Don't Take it to Heart

2 Samuel 13:20
Her brother Absalom said to her, "Has that Amnon, your brother, been with you? Be quiet now, my sister; he is your brother. Don't take this thing to heart." And Tamar lived in her brother Absalom's house, a desolate woman.

Now things get really sad. It was bad enough what David did, taking another man's wife, and killing her husband. But then the ripples spread through his large family, with the innocent victimized.
When Amnon wanted Tamar, she was Absalom's beautiful sister. Now that the deed is done, they're all siblings. Two problematic brothers and one sister whose life has just been ruined.
This was Absalom's response, wrong in every way. First the all-in-the-family defense, then the stifling of her sorrow and anger. "Don't take this thing to heart." Easy to say for a man who hadn't just been raped. Just don't think about it. Nothing happened.
The bad thing was that Absalom himself took it to heart. Revenge became his goal, and then rebellion. A dreadful spiral spinning outward from a father who had done wrong.