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

Paradox

"A most ingenious paradox!"

You might recognize this quote from The Pirates of Penzance. A paradoxical idea is what in the end saves the day, for someone who has a birthday on February 29th might be a certain number of years old, but he  has had only a small number of birthdays. A paradox -- two opposing truths.

Paradoxes are not limited to Gilbert and Sullivan musicals. Truths exist about the world that seem to be in opposition. For example, society at large says that a man should love his family above all else, but God says to love Him to the extent that one's love for his family appears to be hate. Society teaches you that one should respect everyone else's opinion and allow them to express what they think freely. God demands that His followers follow His commands only. In our minds, both of these idea systems seem to be right, but God demands almost the exact opposite. How can one, then, reconcile these ideas?

Here's the low-down. God created the world to run His way. It's not really meant to be run man's way. However, if we learn to truly love God, then we will learn to truly love our family. If we learn to commit to God's way of thinking, then we can truly understand how other people think, for God is the source of knowledge and understanding.

So, yes, the world and God hold similar values in certain areas, but the world will never be able to achieve its goals because the world's system of thought will never seek God as its primary source of truth. It will try to solve its problems without Him. Trying to do something right the wrong way is still wrong.

Do the right thing by seeking God first -- another star counted.