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.
Continue reading ““Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?””
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