No One Taught You Evil

If you have ever been around little kids, you know there is often a struggle to get them to behave. We teach kids to be nice, we don't have to teach them to me cruel. We teach kids to share, we don't have to teach them to be selfish. We teach kids to be kind and gentle, we don't need to teach them to hit and to hurt. Somehow kids learn these negative behaviors, despite our best efforts. It's clear that kids are not the blank slates that some psychologists have tried to make them out to be.  The reality is, we are evil, and the evil behavior is in our hearts.

I know that I have often struggled with the desire to do the wrong thing, wanting to do what I know I shouldn't. I have never had a strong, overwhelming urge to do what is right and had to fight it off. That happens with evil. We are tempted to do evil, we often have to push ourselves to do good.  It's so much easier to be selfish and self centered. It's easier to let the rude and harsh words than the kind and encouraging ones. Like Yoda says, the path to the dark side is quicker, easier and more seductive. Why is it easier to give in to hatred than to submit to love.

We have to face it, we are people with dark hearts. We spend too much time attempting to justify our behavior that we know is wrong, but still do anyway. Our hearts our dark, our eyes are dark, our minds are dark, and apart from God and His grace, they will stay that way. Without the light that is Christ, we will never have brightness in our lives. We can deny it, we can fight it, but we can never escape the reality. We need to repent and turn to Christ, without Him we are evil.