Peanut Gallery: Evil in the hearts of men is not something new. Truth be told… it’s part of our human condition. Even the Apostle Paul struggled with it.
Romans 7:21-25 NLT
“I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.”
The Apostle Paul knew… “The Shadow” knew… so why do horrific acts of evil catch us by surprise? Perhaps it’s because we are looking in the wrong place – outside ourselves, all around us – instead of inside our own hearts and minds… where the seeds of evil take root.
But would we recognize these seeds if we saw them?
Maybe, maybe not… but John Hawkins has offered some signposts… “Stop Signs” to heed before things get out of hand. I have re-posted his blog here for the purpose of self-reflection – “5 Moral Boundaries You Do Not Want To Cross.”
His article has been copied below, for your convenience… but please follow the above link to the original and check out the comments. Perhaps you would like to add your own.
Oh… and the Apostle Paul had the last word on the subject:
Romans 8.1-2 NLT
“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.”
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5 Moral Boundaries You Do Not Want To Cross –
John Hawkins – December 9, 2012 – 6:30 am
“Man is the cruelest animal.” — Friedrich Nietzsche
To understand evil, we must set aside the comfortable belief that we would never do anything wrong. Instead, we must begin to ask ourselves, what would it take for me to do such things? Assume that it would be possible. — Roy Baumeister
Many people consider monsters like Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin somehow uniquely evil. They imagine them as malevolent, abominable, nearly inhuman entities who spent their days scheming to inflict misery on other humans for the sheer sadistic pleasure of it.
The truth is much more terrifying: human beings as evil and ruthless as Hitler, Stalin, and Mao are so common that we pass them on the street daily, see them on TV, and may even have the misfortune of knowing them personally. The real difference between these notorious butchers and the guy in a federal prison is not so much the degree of depravity, but the unchecked power needed to make his darkest desires reality.
Once you set aside Hollywood’s caricatured portrait of evil and accept the normalcy of villainy, you see how a “normal person” just like you or me could embrace evil.
Moreover, sometimes the shift from human to fiend can have murky beginnings. Some people step over a line and come back. Others follow that tragic path described by C.S. Lewis,
The safest road to Hell is the gradual one — the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.
Here, at least, are a few signposts that will alert you to stop, pause, and take stock to make sure you’re not on that gentle slope.
1) I/You vs. I/It.
We’re all sometimes guilty of treating others like objects instead of human beings with families, feelings, and dreams, just like us. Without that ability to objectify other human beings, pornography couldn’t exist. It’s also one of the reasons for Internet rudeness. When we type something cruel to janeeschmoe8765, we don’t see the crushed look on her face, watch the tears roll down her face, or know that her brother died last week so she’s feeling particularly vulnerable.
Oftentimes, the “morally challenged” among us tend to see themselves as real people, but they look at most others as “things” to be manipulated in any way that benefits them. The thief views a house the way you’d view a gold nugget you found underfoot in a stream instead of thinking about how he’s taking things that another human being may have worked for months or years to pay for. A man who tells a woman he loves her just to seduce her and then never call again only thinks of her as an object for his gratification as opposed to a person. A professional hit man looks at the targets he kills as a pay day. Ultimately, the perpetrator looks at himself as an “I” and his victim as an “it,” like a coffee maker. Few people have moral qualms about what they do to a coffee maker.
2) An Ends -Justifies-the-Means Mentality.
Utopianism and a willingness to use any means to achieve a predetermined “good” end can devastate the lives of other human beings — and even that assumes the “good” outcome is really good. Jim Jones, Pol Pot, and the KKK all probably believed what they were doing was right and good. Yet in the end they turned out to be doing evil in pursuit of an evil end. This is the norm of human history since the beginning of time.
Of course, theoretically, one might create a good outcome by using evil means, but it’s very difficult in the real world because evil tends to spawn more evil and provoke retribution. Tactics adopted by one side inspire the other. Crossing one moral line usually leads to crossing another and taking things to further extremes. Some of the worst devils you’ll ever run across are people who believe themselves to be working for the best ends.
3) A Feeling of Victimization.
Certainly people who’ve been genuinely victimized aren’t evil. However, many folks walk around nursing grievances the size of asteroids when their legitimate complaints amount to a pebble. These tend to be some of the nastiest, vilest, most despicable people you’ll ever run across because they feel justified in “fighting back” after having their “victimization.” A man’s wife says something he doesn’t like so he thinks it’s okay to smack her in the mouth. Others think their company treated them unfairly so they feel justified in stealing from the cash register. They don’t feel like it’s fair that they’re poor, so they feel entitled to sell drugs to kids. Some of the most malicious people you’ll ever run across never blame themselves for anything and perpetually feel as if they’re being victimized by invisible, malevolent forces beyond their control.
4) Escalation and Line Crossing.
There’s a Peruvian proverb that goes, “Little by little one walks far.” Whether you’re talking about business, love, or evil, that’s very true. Evil begins with fantasies, poor choices, and small steps and ends in sin, degeneracy and cruelty. Do you think when Nikki Sixx started doing drugs that he believed he’d end up on his own couch freebasing instead of going to the funeral of the grandmother who raised him? Do you think when the guards at Auschwitz first started going to work they had any idea they’d help to send a million human beings to the gas chamber? It all started with a step and then another step and then another step…
5) Refusal to Accept Moral Absolutes.
(Detail of the Hell Scene), Baptistery, Florence.
Is it always wrong to torture an animal for pleasure? What about gang rape? How about a 30-year-old man having a “romantic relationship” with a 10-year-old boy? Considering the fact that torturing and killing animals acts as an early warning sign for serial killers, rape remains a “tactic” of warfare in parts of the world, and groups like NAMBLA actively defend adults who commit statutory rape, more than a few people would say “no” to all three questions. Without any real moral lines in the sand, where everything floats in a grey area justifiable under the right circumstances, then we can very easily slide into levels of depravity most people haven’t even imagined possible.
Peanut Gallery: So… where do you need to draw the line? And… where do you need to step back from a line you’ve crossed?
Matthew 1.20-21 NLT
As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, or he will save his people from their sins.”
Lord help us.
The Peanut Gallery 