Saturday, 13 December 2008

  • The Human Heart is a Wicked Thing- Kyle's Dilemma

    Guest post submitted by gabrielpeter

    The Human Heart is a Wicked Thing- Kyle's Dilemma

    A friend of mine confessed to very humbling personal revelation yesterday.  Here was his revelation: "I'm a bad person."  I think the words "miserable" and "selfish" were in there, too.  He passed along a poem by C.S. Lewis that described how he was feeling:

    All this is flashy rhetoric about loving you.
    I never had a selfless thought since I was born.
    I am mercenary and self-seeking through and through;
    I want God, you, all friends, merely to serve my turn.
     
    Peace, reassurance, pleasure, are the goals I seek,
    I cannot crawl one inch outside my proper skin;
    I talk of love -- a scholar's parrot may talk Greek --
    But, self-imprisoned, always end where I begin.
    If we are all honest with ourselves, we should all be able to say that this is an accurate description of our own hearts.  I told Kyle I could completely relate.  Even when I think about giving to a charity or remembering my tithes and offerings, I think about how this will benefit or glorify me.  There is nothing about me or anyone that is truly selfless.  Maybe I have something to gain by being this openly honest.  Perhaps I'm trying to impress you with my insightfulness.  Really, I just want you to leave me lots of comments.

    I'm amazed when I'm told - even by close Christian friends - that the human heart is capable of so much good.  No, the human heart is a wicked thing.  Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?"  Romans 3:10 says, "There is none righteous.  No, not one."  Ecclesiastes 7:20 says, "There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins."  And 1 Corinthians 6:9 tells us that, "the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God."  So what is there to say of us selfish beasts?

    I remember reading Romans 7 and totally relating to what Paul had to say about the sin within himself.  "I do not understand what I do.  For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.  I know that nothing good lives in me.  For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.  For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do -- this I keep on doing."  (You can probably identify the humor in the repetition that Paul is going for here.)

    Then Paul says, "For in my inner being I delight in God's law," but he cannot carry it out because, "What a wretched man I am!  Who will rescue me from this body of death?"  And I'm thinking, YES!  Someone gets it!  Please, tell me, Paul, what is the solution to this horrible feeling?  But the chapter concludes, "Thanks be to God -- through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

    .....What?  That's IT?  That's not a solution.  What's the solution?!  How do I take it away?!!

    The fact of the matter is: we can't take it away.  We, in and of ourselves, will always be wicked.  There is only one who can cleanse us from this unrighteousness, and that's Jesus Christ.  We cannot save ourselves.  Only Jesus can.  Even though we are told that "none are righteous," the Bible does speak of righteous people.  It begins in Genesis 15 where Abraham's belief in God and his obedience was "credited to him as righteousness."  Paul gives praise to God through Jesus Christ because Jesus, His son, was sent to us to save us from this horrible mess of deceitfulness we are plagued with.  In Romans 4:24, Paul says that this is "for us, to whom God will credit righteousness -- for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead."

    There is only One who is spotless who can take away our sin.  1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."  Isaiah 44:22 says, "I have blotted out your transgressions.  Return to me, and I will make you new."  We're going to make mistakes because obviously we are unrighteous.  But if we are honest, if we come before God humbly and confess, we are promised that we will be forgiven.  This is the attitude of our hearts that we should have before God, to show our love for Him by serving Him and obeying His commands (John 14:15, 21; 1 John 3:23, 1 John 5:2,3).  That verse I mentioned earlier from Jeremiah continues, "I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve."

    I told Kyle that knowing the wickedness within yourself is necessary for salvation.  Afterall, if we don't know the evil that is within us and the acts that we are capable of, then we don't really believe that there is anything we need to be saved from.  Consequently, if we feel like we need to make ourselves right first before we come to God, we still don't understand that this cleansing power can come only from Christ!  He wants us to come just as we are, and let Him take care of the bad stuff.  Understanding that we are imperfect before a holy God is the first step toward accepting His grace.  He is unbelievably patient with us and eternally merciful.  I appreciate your heart, Kyle, and echo Paul's exclamation when he said, "Thanks be to God -- through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

    Now leave me your comments.

    Revelation 3:17 "You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.'  But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked."

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Comments (48)

  • Pickwick12@xanga

    AMEN! Great post. We cannot make ourselves righteous.

    Isaiah 64:6 All of us have become like one who is unclean,
           and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
           we all shrivel up like a leaf,
           and like the wind our sins sweep us away.

    Romans 3:10-12 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."

    Only Christ in us is the hope of glory. On our own, we can't do anything righteous. The things that we do that seem righteous are "filthy rags/" Only Christ's life in us is capable of truly things, and He has freed us from our sinful nature and comes to dwell in us and live through us if we will give up our own efforts and let Him do the driving.

    Awesome, fabulous, super, delightful, great post!
  • no_more_grace@xanga

    Wow...this is the best post that I've read on Revelife in a LONG time.
  • Biblerapture@xanga

    It's an interesting, amazing thing what God does isn't it? He starts changing us from within immediately. But the struggle to stay within His will for us gets easier the longer we keep choosing His way and not our way.


    But it is always OUR choice.
  • icicle84@xanga

    You know, I could argue a bit, but it would just be a semantics game.


    I think you're pretty much dead-on (as dead-on as a human can be, maybe).
  • JUSTAVAPORHERE@xanga

    I concur, this it the BEST post I have read in awhile as well. It's honest! And I, for one, really appreciate it because just yesterday I got off on a pity party for myself about how I fall short so many times, get angry at other drivers, the person who cut in front of me at Wal-Mart, etc., and have not so night thoughts. I appreciate you letting me see that I'm NOT the only one that struggles with this, :)


    Excellent, excellent post!! Much can be learned here!


    Cheryl
  • JUSTAVAPORHERE@xanga

    "not so NICE" thoughts that is, rofl. "Night"...can you tell where my thoughts REALLY are, rofl?
  • no_more_grace@xanga

    @no_more_grace@xanga - I realised that what I said doesn't mean much though, since at least 90% of Revelife's recent posts have been total crap.  Regardless of what most of Revelife's posts have been of late, this was very well written and a very accurate representation of our faith.  Thanks for that.
  • sugartomyhoney@xanga

    Great post.  I firmly believe all sin comes back to pride, selfishness.  I could so relate to the thoughts that your friend was having.
  • pjcomposer@xanga

    The "selflessness vs. selfishness" issue is not a Christian one; it is a Zoroastrian one.


    Also, "selflessness" as a concept is self-contradictory.  No matter what you do, you do it because on some level you WANT to do it.  That means that there can be no such thing as selflessness.


    What's more, the term "selfishness" in the Bible is usually a mistranslation.  If you encounter the term in the Bible, corroborate it with Young's Literal Translation.


    Furthermore, before you beat yourself over the head trying to get rid of "sin," think carefully about what makes sin sin.  That is, what is the essential nature of sin, which makes it sinful, and what is the point being made by the voices in the Bible when they refer to sin?


    Figure that out, and then decide what is and isn't sin.
  • hubbaduh@xanga

    To the author of the post:
    Great thoughts....definitely gave me a lot to ponder in my walk with God.

    To Revelife:
    Thanks for actually posting something meaty and worth merit.
  • sammysosa9004@xanga

    "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good - except God alone." - Mark 10:18.

    Thank you for reminding us of our depravity and breaking the illusion we so highly held of ourselves.
  • simplecandor@xanga

    jeremiah 17:9 is my favorite bible verse!
  • naphtali_deer@xanga

    Amen. We've got to admit our spiritual bankruptcy along with the publican.

    If people don't see the bad news about themselves, how can they see their need of the Good News of the Gospel of Christ?
  • macadamianutz@xanga

    "Son of David, don't pass me by!  Because I am naked, I'm poor and I'm blind ..." You should check out John Mark McMillan's song "Closer" - his humility and passion are incredible.  Great post.  We start treading on dangerous ground when we believe we're good ... or at least, better than some others ... 

  • OneLordoneSalvation@xanga

    Thank you so much for posting this...I have been struggling in the same way as your friend as of late and instead of doing something about it I had been complaining to God and then walking off without waiting or looking for an answer. God used your post to reach me and I am so thankful you allowed Him to use your writing to bless the xanga community. 
  • Wheelchere@xanga
    yay!

    This is SO true and so many christians nowadays are into the prosperity me thing. Its so refreshing to hear someone that knows and understands the true message the gospel tells us that we need a savior because we need to be saved. 

  • Stephanie_J_B@xanga

    Amen!!!! I agree totally!!
  • JUSTAVAPORHERE@xanga

    @sugartomyhoney@xanga - Amen!!! You said it in a nutshell...It all comes back to pride and selfishness, which in my opinion is probably tied into $$$, the root of all evil I believe if I'm correct, lol.

  • JUSTAVAPORHERE@xanga

    I simply can't say this enough..."EXCELLENT POST!!!" I even came back to read the other comments and realized we ALL seem to fight this struggle!
  • macadamianutz@xanga

    @pjcomposer@xanga - Jesus would not have told us to deny ourselves if it wasn't possible. Yes, we are inherently selfish.  Often our 'selfless' deeds have selfish underpinnings.  However, Mother Teresa would choose the most beaten-up, mismatched pair of donated shoes for herself so that her girls wouldn't suffer unduly ... a choice which, made repeatedly over time, caused her feet to become deformed.  She made this choice willingly, yes - but it was still a selfless act of love - because a more selfish person would have taken a better pair of shoes, leaving the worst for the next person.

    If her motive was self-flagellation, based on an idea that she was earning God's approval through daily suffering, then yes, we could say her selflessness had selfish motives.  But if her motive was to spare others pain and suffering by taking it upon herself, surely you must agree this is selfless behavior.  Otherwise, you'd need to convince me that Mother Teresa woke up each day and thought, "I'm really looking forward to gaining five new blisters and bleeding through my sandals today!" which is hardly conceivable (unless, as mentioned before, she was an ascetic).  

    I think sin is anything that severs our dependence on God (self-sufficiency, self-reliance, self-absorption, self-flagellation, self-aggrandizement, self-indulgence - basically, obsession with self.)  Thus, Jesus' command to "deny our SELVES".  What do you think it is?  
  • Grungefan@xanga

    It is only in understanding the true depth of our depravity that we understand our total and utter need for God.  Good post!  David Crowder (Wholly yours) "But the harder I try the more clearly can I feel the depth of our fall and the weight of it all
    And so this might could be the most impossible thing
    Your grandness in me making me clean...


    I am full of earth
    You are heaven’s worth
    I am stained with dirt, prone to depravity
    You are everything that is bright and clean
    The antonym of me
    You are divinity
    But a certain sign of grace is this
    From a broken earth flowers come up
    Pushing through the dirt


    Just some random parts I pulled from the song!  I love the truth presented here!  I just wish I knew the full depth of my depravity so I could see my full need for God!  I think that would really light a fire under my rear to love and serve the Lord with all my heart, but yet I find myself at most times in a state of complacency and feeling as if I am generally a good person.  To conclude I will leave you a quote that I heard in the Truth project DVD which my Church group is going through in Bible study right now. "It is impossible to slander the human heart, because we can never completely know how evil it really is."  I'm not sure that is an exact quote, and I'm not really sure who said it, but I definitely think it is the truth!  Thanks for the post!
  • MC_Shann@xanga

    Ahh! What a breath of fresh air on Revelife! Great post! Theologically accurate!


    So many people say that God will look upon their heart and see how they are and accept them. They look at statements like "God looks upon the heart to see who truly loves Him." and think they are ok! This is not good! For God to look upon our heart is a scary thing! my thoughts are wicked indeed.... God looking at our heart is not good news but rather bad nesw... 



    Great post!  
  • quiet_strength

    I hate to be the first to disagree, but I do NOT like this post at all.

    I am not saying I disagree entirely. It is important to be aware of what our flesh is capable of. But for all these verses quoted, there are more that say we, those who profess to believe that Jesus Christ is Lord, have been given a NEW heart and the ability to overcome evil. Jesus would not have instructed us to "be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect" (matthew 5:48) if it were not possible. Romans 12:2 says "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be
    transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test
    and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

    I do not think that God would lay out instructions like these in the Bible if it were abysmally impossible. Yes, we will be hindered by our flesh at times, but we have been given the ability to overcome our flesh through Jesus and the new heart he has placed within us.

    If we spend TOO much time focusing on the sin that lingers within us and our failures, we are insulting the work of Christ within our hearts, and we will never be able to raise above the sin we accept in our lives.

    Romans 6:6-7 - For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
    Ezekiel 11:19- 20 - I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I
    will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of
    flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.
  • misuriver@xanga

    I don't think that's fair. I didn't do anything to warrant starting out wicked with no chance not to be, unless Jesus cleanses me. It seems a like a symbiotic relationship, which means a person would need Jesus... which would make this a selfish endeavor. To think about one's self is not selfish. You have to think about yourself in order to take care of yourself, in order to take care of others. If you can't do the good you want and can only do the bad, that sounds like a personal problem... not a plague on mankind.
    The whole concept of good and evil is, to me, a moot point. Good people will do bad things, and  bad people will, at one point or another do something good. If you make it black and white, you will go insane in this world. There's too much to learn out there for that.
  • misuriver@xanga

    @MC_Shann@xanga -  Yeah, it would be a scary sight to see a heart. I saw one in the 8th grade in science class. It was kinda cool, and big and plump. I expected it to be slimy, but it wasn't.
    Why would your god be scared of a pumping mechanism that he apparently created. So I'm going to assume that by heart you guys mean souls. I have an argument for that, but it'll take too long.

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