In the early days of the race, God noted that "the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Gen 6:5). Only ... evil ... continually ... that's quite an indictment. It was one of the reasons He brought about the Flood (Gen 6:6-7). But in the aftermath we read, "I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done" (Gen 8:21). Nice promise ... but equally as bad. "... the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth." And we're tempted to say, "Seriously, God, why such a negative Nancy?" But maybe ... just maybe ... we should take God's accusation seriously.
According to history, in approximately 3500 years of recorded history, maybe 270 years total have been without war. Less than 8%. Think about our society today. How much of our everyday existence is tied up in crime prevention? From deadbolts and outdoor lighting, security cameras and anti-theft packaging, security stripes on credit cards and "loss prevention" companies, "two-factor authentication" and spam filters ... the list is long ... because "the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth." The youngest known serial killer is Amarjeet Sada, a child in India who murdered three infants in 2007. In America, Anton Wood was convicted of murder in 1893 at age 11 and Lionel Tate was sentenced to life without parole at age 13. In 2008, an 8-year-old was arrested for shooting his father and his father's friend to death in St. Johns, Arizona. The notion of "the innocence of youth" seems to be a myth.
Beyond the evidence in our everyday lives, the Bible says, that "the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth." That "youth" isn't "teenage years" or "adolescence." It's "from early childhood onward" ... "from the beginning of life." So David wrote, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me" (Psa 51:5). That's not "she was sinning when she conceived me," but "I was a sinner at conception." He says elsewhere, "The wicked are estranged from the womb; these who speak lies go astray from birth" (Psa 58:3). Which is why God declares, "There is no one who does good, not even one" (Psa 14:3; Psa 53:3; Rom 3:13). It would appear from this and more that God was serious in Genesis 8. The intent of man's heart is evil from his youth. The situation isn't manageable; it's dire. And the answer isn't "work harder" ... it's Christ's sacrifice on our behalf that enables the Holy Spirit to live in us and give us a new heart. Anything less is simply a battle against nature ... our own human nature.
It always astounds me when people say, "People are basically good." Do you not know people? Are we not living in the same world? And that's just the overt evil. Our daily bread is to rise up against our Creator and act like "I will be the Most High." We seem to think nothing of the fact that we are in open rebellion, trying to overthrow our Creator. We're not ready for the good news because we don't even comprehend how bad the bad news is.
ReplyDeleteThis post touches on the common debate of people’s basic nature. Is it the case that people are essentially good but occasionally defy their natures and behave badly, or is it rather that humans are fundamentally depraved but are able to rise above their natures and behave decently? (And even, are some people one way and some the other?) We can observe that people’s behavior runs the gamut from moral to immoral, righteous to wicked. (Those falling at either extreme are the ones who make the news or become famous/infamous--essentially because they veer far from the norm in either direction and thus stand out as anomalies.) There are many humanistic explanations for this spectrum of human behavior--including an assumption that basic human nature is essentially neutral but is molded by societal pressure and influences (the “nurture vs nature” debate) and that it can be reformed through humanistic efforts. This is basically observing human behavior and then seeking to understand the nature or heart behind it. As you point out, however, the true issue is inversive to that--understanding the nature of the heart that causes the behavior. Unlike us, God knows the intent of the heart of each person--that which is usually kept concealed from others until its fruit is revealed (in sometimes shocking ways). Bottom line: God’s omniscience trumps our inadequate humanist understanding.
ReplyDeleteLorna, you are correct. We see people's actions, evaluate them on a subjective standard, and call those actions good. We then infer that those actions which seem good, are the result of people being innately good. At best this is a subjective metric based on a small sample size and an inability to discern motivation in others. I would be willing to bet that each of us could point to something good that we've done, but that was done with bad motives.
DeleteUltimately, making these sorts of judgements based on observable behavior leads to some sort of righteousness by works.
When I wrote my comment, I wasn’t really thinking of the theological matter of man’s inherent sinful nature but moreso about the reality of the spectrum of human behavior in our current society--i.e. how and why some people (but not others) are able to stifle the evil intent of their hearts, so that our society is not completely overrun by evil-doers (as in, apparently, the days of Noah). Even those who do “good” have evil intentions at their core, yet they suppress them. I agree that true motives of the heart color any subjective “good deeds” done and essentially negate their altruistic value in God’s eyes. As Stan pointed out, God sees the heart and knows the evil intent there--even that which is buried so deep that we are able to deny it exists and therefore deem ourselves (and each other) “good” people.
DeleteBut Stan, there are lots of really good people around. Dan observes them and has decreed them to be good.
ReplyDeleteAlso this seems like a reference to the notion of a sin nature, which (according to Dan) is not actually a thing.
Seriously, I think that it is impossible for anyone to look at the world or watch the news without understanding that humanity is full of people who are not good.
I know, Craig, that Dan (and many ... most ... others) disagree. The ultimate question is who will they believe? Their own faulty evaluations or God's Word? Of course, they'll argue it's not there ... so in a sense they won't even believe their own eyes. ... but the Scriptures are not unclear and the evidence is not unclear. It's almost as if ... their hearts are deceitful and they don't know it.
DeleteThe answer, as Dan regularly tells us, is that they believe themselves. Or in Dan's case, his reason. I certainly don't think that he is alone in elevating his reason above scripture.
DeleteOr it's almost as if their hearts are deceitful but they suppress it.
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