Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. —Psalm 51:4
Notice the words of David’s confession in the verse above: “Against you, you only, have I sinned.” Wait a minute! Wasn’t David’s sin against Uriah and Bathsheba? While the Bible recognizes the horizontal person-to-person nature of sin, it mainly presents sin as a vertical person-to-God offense.
The most important truth about sin is that all sin is primarily against God. David understood this. Though he undoubtedly sinned against Bathsheba, Uriah, their families, his family, his men, and all sorts of people—and he owed them an apology—what he was primarily concerned with during his confession was righting his relationship with God.
Until I get this vertical relationship right, I have little chance of getting the horizontal ones right. Perhaps the reason you’re having trouble in your relationships, dealing with the baggage of sin and guilt and shame, and are stuck in a sin pattern, is because you are repenting with worldly sorrow instead of godly sorrow.
Make it Personal
Ask God to show you if there are issues in your relationship with Him that are affecting your relationships with others.