I love footy. Its toughness, its spectacle; the way it flows and sweeps across a field. The camaraderie of supporting a team.

But that passion can bring out both the best and the worst in me. It breeds loyalty and devotion, but it can also stir up hatred and derision. Wins sometimes are too gloating, defeats too bitter. After a game I sometimes look at myself, and I don’t like what I see.

I’m sure we all experience this from time to time - we see ourselves in the mirror and are confronted by our sin and are disgusted. It can be thoroughly disheartening.

David was confronted by his sin by the prophet Nathan. Why did it take this long for David to realise his sin? David, who knew God and His law so well - why was his conscience not pricked earlier in the sordid affair? But if we are too critical of David here I think we misunderstand how blinded we can be by power. Maybe David grew too used to his will being done without question that he stopped questioning it himself? We can be just the same when we dwell in the self-important delusions of our own making. When we believe we have power, whether it be power over another person, or power to sit in judgment over a football team, we become blind to our own sin because we believe we are above the law. We are our own king! No wonder we are devastated when we come crashing to earth.

The important thing is that once David was confronted by his sin, he did not ignore it. Nathan’s message enabled David to see the consequences of his actions in a way he hadn’t before, and in a way he couldn’t ignore. He mourned and humbled himself and he turned to God (2 Sam. 12:16-17).

Humility is the antidote to our selfishness and delusions of power. There is no better way to remain humble than to confess our sins to one another, and to God. How good it is that God is willing to forgive our sins and pick us up and make us new (Psalm 32).