We love that which is beautiful. It calls to us, and we want to claim it for our own. A sunset? The choice hillside property with the best view goes for a premium price. A well-designed car? It sells like hotcakes. Beautiful is the reason artwork commands prices in the millions of dollars.
We love that which is beautiful.
However, when do we love beautiful too much? Is it when we undercut someone else’s deal to force the seller to let us buy the sunset lot? Or when we cut our charitable giving to buy that car? Maybe we have crossed the beautiful line when pursuing artwork becomes more important than spending time with our family.
David, king of Israel, had many children. Of these, Tamar, Absalom’s sister, was the most beautiful. 2 Samuel 13 tells her story.
Another of David’s sons, Amnon, found Tamar so beautiful that his desire for her made him physically ill. He had to have her, even if he had to play trickery to do so. Amnon was about to cross the beautiful line.
What is the beautiful line? It is that point at which something beautiful trips us up, and we let that thing we desire begin to control our lives, sending us down a path of no return, one on which only the tormented machinations of the devil can be found.
Through trickery, Amnon took Tamar to his bed, using her without her consent. Then, as soon as he was done, he sent her away. Verse 15 tells us “Ammon hated her with very great hatred, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her.”
Tamar cannot be faulted for her beauty, and the Word describes Amnon’s trickery step-by-step as he connives to entrap her in the privacy of his own rooms. Amnon got what he wanted, but crossing the beautiful line initiated a cascading series of misfortunes.
Misfortune #1 – Humiliation
Verses 19-20 tell us Tamar put ashes on her head and lived in her brother Absalom’s house, a desolate woman. She was only 15 when she was violated.
Misfortune #2 – Anger
Verse 22 reveals the depth of Absalom’s hatred for his brother.
“Absalom hated Amnon, because he had violated his sister Tamar.”
Misfortune #3 – Murder
Verses 23-29 relate Absalom’s revenge, planned in detail, and consummated with exacting precision. Absalom gets Amnon drunk then has his servants murder him.
Misfortune #4 – A Broken Family
Verses 34-38 show how crossing the beautiful line can so easily destroy a family. Absalom was branded as a murderer and forced to flee the country.
There we have it, the beautiful line. Some things are not ours to claim, no matter how beautiful they are, and no matter how much we desire them. They belong to someone else.
That hillside lot? If God does not give it to us, we can still enjoy the sunset. That beautiful car? It will grow old and rust. Artwork? Pah! The people we meet every day are so much more special.
When we find beautiful, it isn’t a bad thing. Rather, far from it. Beauty is God’s gift to his creation. It is up to us to see the line we cannot cross and then not cross it. We can enjoy beautiful without having to possess it for our own.
That which is beautiful is meant for us to share with others. If we try to possess it, it will soon possess us, instead.
Copyright © 2014 MyChurchNotes.net
Originally Published 7-31-14 in Discipleship