On Our Own

Some people say that every human has some good in him. Those people say that man will naturally do the right thing; in order to explain all the bad in the world, those people say that society teaches man to fend for himself. Society teaches man to only think about himself; it teaches man to steal from others; it teaches man to harm others to get what he wants; it teaches people to shout and maim each other with their words; it teaches man that taking another human life is acceptable if such an action gives you what you want. Society is the main problem with the world, according to these people.

Have you ever raised a child? I have not personally raised a child, but I have had a part as a babysitter and an older brother. Children do not naturally want to obey what I have to say. They have a will in them to do what they want to do, and, if you haven't noticed, children don't really want to do the right thing. They hit; they steal; they lie, and, according to most parents' discovery, no one had to teach them to do those bad things. Children automatically do what society at large would declare to be wrong.

Look at primitive societies. They do not have extensive extra-cultural influence. They don't have televisions that display contemporary societal thought; they don't have computers in order to access other societal blemishes, yet, in spite of their isolation from the evils of society, primitive cultures still contain thievery, adultery, rape, and murder, so the source of evil cannot be a sophisticated society.

I know that not many people would admit that they believe that society is to blame for man's problems, but I hear many people say that they wrong that they have done was the fault of someone else. Men and women point fingers at each other declaring the opposite party to be the guilty one in divorce cases. Children blame parents for their problems later in life. Citizens point their fingers at the government as a great giver of problems. Basically, for every problem that has ever existed, there is at least one finger pointed at another human being. People don't generally take the fault completely for their own wrongdoing.

What is wrong with man? Man is supposed to be the pinnacle of the natural world, yet he seems to stoop to the lowest of actions toward his fellow man. The answer is simple: man is not naturally good. If you took away all influences and left man to his own ends, he would still do the wrong thing because doing wrong is in his nature. Yes, man may seem to have altruistic moments; that fact I cannot deny, but man's base nature demands that he look out for his own interests above all others. This is the simplest way to explain why there are bad things in our world. Man is naturally bad.

However, knowing that man is naturally bad is the first step in discovering a solution.

John 3:16