We read literature for the adventure of it; old books to give us perspective; novels to get at the truth. But stories also teach us about ourselves.
In 2 Samuel, King David sins with Bathsheba and sends her husband, Uriah, to the front lines of battle to die, in order to cover up what he had done. The prophet Nathan is then sent to David to tell him a story:
“There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms,[a] and it was like a daughter to him. 4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”
5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, 6 and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”
7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man!” Only after hearing the story does David finally acknowledge, “I have sinned against the Lord.”
It may be tempting to think of the characters in our stories like we think of historical figures—as far-off, one-dimensional, heroes or villains for us to judge from a distance: Captain Hook, Hercules, the White Witch, Bilbo Baggins, Oedipus. But the truth is, we may be more or less like them than we like to admit. So, when you read stories, always remember to ask yourself, whether for good or for ill, “Am I the man?”
Have a wonderful day.
