The Human Predicament

Man without God cannot reign his own life or his own world. He isn't even capable of controlling his own passions. And therefore he becomes enslaved to the "Pandora box" of unworthy love, jealousy, murder, competitiveness, polygamy and violence.

For all I have sinned

"What comes out of a man is what makes him unclean. For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man unclean" Mark 7: 20-23

"As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands,no one who seeks God. All have turned away,they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good,not even one." Romans 3:10-12

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 2:23

As disturbing as it is, every honest, reflective person comes to acknowledge the ugly truth. We generally manage to keep the lid on top of the boiling cauldron, especially in the company of others but this lid barely stays on with great effort.

Evil is just not where blood has been spilled. Evil is the self absorbed human heart. (Ravi Zacharias, Deliver Us From Evil, p.175)

Our insatiable greed is never satisfied with what we already have. What others have always seems better and we live in a constant state of complains. Moments of gratitude and joy are rare. Naturally when "push comes to shove" our basic philosophy of life turns out to be, "if it comes down to you and me, I need to live, so you should die."

The animal that blushes

"Mankind is the only animal that blushes" (Charles Darwin)
"or has any reason to" (Mark Twain)

Man has much to be ashamed of. Moments of shame show that we are aware of the gap between how we truly are and what we ought to be. Perhaps the blushing face is the most honest and true reflection of our nature and a sign of hope for something better.


Evasive maneuvers

Because we loath to admit our sins, we have manage to come up with many ways to evade it.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. 1 John 1:8-10

Humanity has perfected the art of denial when it comes to personal sinfulness.


The notion of sin as a psychological hangup

Saying something bad, "not so bad". E.g. He's not sinful, he's just sick. To have the excuse of being sick rather than sinful.

Everybody does it. Or, I am not as bad...

Safety in numbers. Things that everybody else is doing or if they are not as bad, makes people feel good about themselves.

Morality is an entirely personal matter

My morality against yours. My morality vs your morality merely based on personal preferences and taste. Society applauds the person that is "true to yourself". Under this insane believe, an unfaithful spouse, a murderer, a racist becomes an honest person who acted in a way that is "true to yourself".

Certain things are wrong in a basic, fundamental sense, and that personal preference is not the final arbiter of right and wrong. (Bertrand Russell - Atheist)


Love makes moral demands

Love can forbear, and love can forgive but love can never be reconciled to an unlovely object because sin itself is incapable of being altered. (Thomas Traherne, Feast of Magdalen, Apostle to the Apostles)

e.g. A husbad who has been unfaithful confesses to an affair to which his wife says "it's okay, lighten up, for I never took our wedding vows seriously anyway. No harm done. I don't feel the pain, in fact I feel nothing" ......
.... What does this reveal about how the wife viewed the husband all along? What does this reveal about the wife's level of commitment and love for the husband?

The Bible is full of heartfelt descriptions of God's grief over man's rejection of God and His will. God views each human life as highly significant and charged with great stakes because each person's decisions have ultimate consequences.

Jeremiah 31:20, Hosea 11.8, Matthew 23:37


p.s.

Above All

by: Michael W. Smith

Above all powers, above all kings
Above all nature and all created things
Above all wisdom and all the ways of man
You were here before the world began

Above all kingdoms, above all thrones
Above all wonders the world has ever known
Above all wealth and treasures of the earth
There's no way to measure what you're worth

Crucified
Laid behind a stone
You lived to die
Rejected and alone
Like a rose
Trampled on the ground
You took the fall
And thought of me
Above all

Above all powers, above all kings
Above all nature and all created things
Above all wisdom and all the ways of man
You were here before the world began

Above all kingdoms, above all thrones
Above all wonders the world has ever known
Above all wealth and treasures of the earth
There's no way to measure what you're worth

Crucified
Laid behind a stone
You lived to die
Rejected and alone
Like a rose
Trampled on the ground
You took the fall
And thought of me
Above all

Crucified
Laid behind a stone
You lived to die
Rejected and alone
Like a rose
Trampled on the ground
You took the fall
And thought of me
Above all

Like a rose
Trampled on the ground
You took the fall
And thought of me
Above all

p.s. one of those days you feel restless but have nothing to do