After King David arranged the death of Uriah and took Uriah’s wife, the prophet Nathan approached him with a case.
A rich man owned many flocks. A poor man owned a single ewe lamb, which grew up with his children and was loved like a daughter. When a traveler arrived, the rich man refused to sacrifice one of his own animals. He took the poor man’s lamb and served it instead.
David was furious. The rich man deserved severe punishment and restitution, he declared.
Nathan answered: You are the man.
By judging the disguised case, David stated the moral standard before self-interest could construct a defense. Nathan then applied David’s own verdict to his seizure of Bathsheba and killing of Uriah.
Source: 2 Samuel 12:1-9, King James Version via Bible Gateway. Retold and condensed.
What it argues
A story can bypass motivated reasoning by letting a person judge the principle before recognizing himself in it. The verdict becomes difficult to escape because it is his own.
Use it for: hypocrisy, moral persuasion, analogy, leadership accountability, and stories as indirect argument.