When I was
young, my father taught me to ride a bicycle. Once I had learned to balance the
machine, I was let loose on the neighbourhood roads. What a menace I proved to
be was highlighted by an irate motorist who told me to keep to the left—this
was in England of course.
The
primary rule of the road—to keep left—was so obvious to him, my father never
told me. But without it, chaos would ensue, driving would be impossible, and a
road system useless. Fortunately, I was warned in no uncertain terms to drive
on the right when I arrived in Canada.
If life is
to be meaningful, the primary condition of humankind needs to be recognized and
granted: the innate wickedness of the human soul. Sin is not something we do,
it is what we are, yet popular wisdom continually asserts the goodness of
humankind.
This seems
to go against all the evidence of the entire history of humanity up to the
atrocities of this year, this week, even today, angrily and rightly condemned
by the media. Yet the Bible asserts that there is none righteous: we are all in
the same boat.
The idea
that there are some bad apples in the human race, but most of us are good, does
not stand up to scrutiny. If we are honest, all of us are ashamed or guilty of
something we have done. Even the best we can do is infected with impure
motives.
The
difference between us and a butcher like Syria’s Al Assad is in degree, not
substance. Haven’t we all wished, at some point, we could stop someone’s voice
permanently? And Jesus said the thought is as good as the deed, Matthew
5:21–22.
Until we are
aware of our sinful tendencies, and that they are innate, not superficial, any
forgiveness offered us by God, or anyone else for that matter, will be
rejected. We will then be left to accept the consequences of our life’s behaviour
ourselves, Romans 3:19.
