“No good deed goes unpunished.” It’s hard to believe the Star Wars franchise turned 44 just over a week ago. When we were first introduced to Luke Skywalker, Obi Wan Kenobi & Darth Vader on May 25, 1977 we had no idea of the connections of the characters. In the scene where Vader killed Obi Wan there was no way to know that it was punishment for a good deed done decades earlier when Obi Wan spared Vader’s life. His good deed did not go unpunished.

If that leaves you sad and disappointed then you’re ready to look at the events involving David, Bathsheba, and Uriah. After finding out Bathsheba was having his baby, David tried to hide his sin. He had Uriah sent home under the pretense of wanting a report from the perspective of one of his best soldiers. His real motive was to give Bathsheba a reason for being pregnant. The text says David urged him to go home and clean up, and even sent a present to Uriah’s house (2 Samuel 11:6-8).

But it didn’t work because Uriah had more honor than David. Out of respect for his fellow soldiers Uriah refused to go home and be with his wife. Instead he slept in the palace with other servants. When David found out, his calm slipped a little and he asked Uriah why. Whether Uriah’s answer hinted at the beginning of a question about what was going on, or just reflected his honor we’ll never know (2 Samuel 11:9-11). Regardless, a desperate David stepped up his game by getting Uriah drunk under the assumption he would lose his discipline and go home. It didn’t work because even a drunk Uriah had more integrity than David and refused to dishonor his commitment (2 Samuel 11:12-13).

Well, his good deed of honoring his fellow soldiers did not go unpunished. David, the soldier’s king, and father to be with the soldier’s wife, became a killer by ordering Uriah’s death. David sent an order to the commander to deliberately expose Uriah to the enemy so he would die in battle. Listen to the cold blooded order. “Place Uriah in the front line of the fiercest battle and withdraw from him, so that he may be struck down and die.” (2 Samuel 11:15).

If the betrayal still stands out 3000 years later, we know it stood out back then too. And if it bothers us, rest assured it bothered the people of Israel who quickly learned what was going on. And, most importantly it bothered God, who did not let David’s sin go unpunished either. If good deeds don’t go unpunished then we can trust God to make sure evil ones don’t escape His notice either, not even our own. Think about that whenever you look in a mirror today.