The Human Condition (Pt. 1)

Hey friends!

Just to preface, I’ve had this topic on my heart for a year now.  I can’t seem to shake it, even after writing in vain about it 7-8 times.

So here is my *crossed-fingers* final attempt.  I’ve divvied it up into three segments for easier reading.  I hope you enjoy it & learn something like I did :)

~Summer

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One day, I was laughing with my coworkers about the mysterious “Human Condition”.  We thought it hilarious that we could apply the phrase to anything:

“Getting on the subway is The Human Condition.  Dealing with incompetent jerks on the road is The Human Condition.  Having to slave all day to earn a paycheck is The Human Condition. Eating crappy tacos is The Human Condition.”

It was very funny and thought-provoking.  We hear so often about this part of our lives, yet none of us can define it.

Thankfully… God has given us a peek into our condition to help us understand!

We learn from His Word that we face 3 common enemies in life: Our rebellious nature (the “flesh”), Satan, and the world.  We could say, then, that The Human Condition is battling all three in our quest to know & emulate God.

But two of these threats are external (Satan & the world) – two things largely beyond our control.

Let’s focus on the one we do have authority over, with God’s help: The inward battle with our flesh.

What does God say about our flesh nature, or our “condition”?

“The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
I the Lord search the heart
and test the mind,
to give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.

Like the partridge that gathers a brood that she did not hatch,
so is he who gets riches but not by justice;
in the midst of his days they will leave him,
and at his end he will be a fool.

A glorious throne set on high from the beginning
is the place of our sanctuary.
O Lord, the hope of Israel,
all who forsake You shall be put to shame;
those who turn away from You shall be written in the earth,
for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.”

~Jeremiah 17

Our hearts are wicked!  I’ve found that many people spend their entire lives running from this truth.

Why don’t we like to believe this?  Why do so many people explain away ‘bad behavior’ with paltry excuses?

Because we can’t fix our sinful hearts ourselves… and by accepting this, we’d have to give up doing whatever we want and give up proving our “goodness”, which many find unthinkable.

So instead, when we’re faced with mass shooting sprees, child molestation, & corporate fraud, we are quick to blame things that have no control over crime (guns, knives, medications, our mental state, moms & dads, lack of education) – instead of the perpetrators.

But bad childhoods don’t hurt, rob, and kill people – PEOPLE DO.

We can’t blame “politicians”, “corporations”, “gang members”, “black people”, “feminists” or “creepy old men”.  We, and our fellow humanity as a whole, are to blame.

Can we accept the fact that we’ve done wrong?  Maybe not to the level of some people, but no honest person can say they’ve always chosen good over bad.  Even as adults, we must discipline ourselves to do the right thing (& it doesn’t always happen).  It doesn’t come – dare I say it – naturally!  It goes against the grain of our natural state, the condition we’re all in.

We gain great FREEDOM and wisdom when we admit this about ourselves & about each other, and when we quit running from reality.

Many educational programs require ethics courses.  My question is, can you force people’s moral behavior?  These classes have their place, no doubt, but *at best* they encourage people to do right by threatening consequences for unethical behavior (or promising benefits when we abstain from it).

Ethics classes don’t make people more ethical, any more than bribing kids with cookies keeps them from throwing future tantrums.  They simply entice people to play nice for a reward/to prevent punishment.  A class can’t change people’s desires – or the condition of their hearts.

As they say, You don’t have to teach kids to be bad. You have to teach them to be GOOD. 

So why are we surprised when kids grow up to be adults who continue being bad?  And why are we surprised when we find OURSELVES behaving badly?

Many people talk about seeing the “good” in everyone, which was my default mode growing up.  I loved my rose-colored glasses because it made my world a much happier place. “You see what you wanna see,” I’d think about pessimists.

Then life comes along & clobbers you in the face. The people you trust backstab you. You go into business with a person of ill repute, ignore the raging red flags, and are surprised when you’re ripped off.

“A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on & suffers the consequences.” ~Prov. 27

“The prudent sees the evil and hides himself, But the naive go on, and are punished for it.” ~Prov. 22

There are inconvenient truths I don’t wanna face about people and MYSELF every day.  I can turn a blind eye, but that would make me a fool and an easy target.  There are people in the world who do not have our best interests at heart.  Sometimes we don’t have their best interests at heart either.  If we refuse to believe this, we will walk a rocky road of consequences.

There’s no need to be skeptical of everyone, but to continue skipping through the meadows with people bent on doing evil is to invite destruction into our lives.

We need to be cautious when we see warning flags about other people, and we must acknowledge that we aren’t above any temptation or sin either so that we can be on guard against falling into their behavior ourselves.

I’d like to leave us with two action items:

1. Accept that we share a common enemy: Ourselves.  If you need help overcoming something, seek God’s help and other people’s assistance to overcome it – don’t try to do it on your own!  There’s a reason you haven’t overcome it alone: You need someone stronger than yourself.
2. Accept that some people choose to NOT restrain themselves and do evil things!  Heed any “red flags” you see in other people’s lives, and guard yourself accordingly.

I’ll post Part Two soon.

Sweet, Sweet Scripture

I like Scriptures.  They are positive.  They bring JOY!  If we practice them, we will walk in great health, peace, and prosperity in our souls.

Scripture is beautifully-written, indeed the most beautiful writing in existence.  Some may argue with that, but that’s OK by me.  I will always contend that God is the best Author of all.  In fact, He created you and He created me.

He is so creative!  God created us in His image, meaning we are creative too (wow, how humble of Him to allow us to share this remarkable trait!)  Creativity is an amazing quality, a powerful force, yet our Father found delight in sharing it with us… I believe it’s an intrinsic quality in every human being.  Just think of some of the most creative people you know: Didn’t their art inspire you?  Draw you in?  Touch some deep part of your heart and soul?  That’s God shining through them!

God is also light.  That means He does not — indeed, cannot — deceive.  He is honest through and through.  WOW!  Can you imagine never having bad motives?  Never pretending to be something/ someone you’re not OR misleading someone that you had pure intent when really you wanted glory, affirmation, money, status, power, or some other self-seeking desire?  Not Him.  He is pure of heart, pure of mind, pure of intention.  I’m reminded of the Scripture describing a man named Nathanael as one “in whom there is no guile”.  Jesus is described the same.  That’s exciting to me that Jesus Himself qualified Nathanael’s character as a man without guile.  Exciting because IT IS POSSIBLE FOR US!  One of my deepest, most heart-felt goals is to be a person in whom there is no guile.  That is my plea for my husband and my fellow church members.  I know God can do this in us — He can make us people of pure intent, pure heart, pure motivations.  But note the key word: pure.  To be pure denotes a purifying experience that burns away impurities.  I believe holiness is one of God’s chief goals and works in His people.

I wonder… do we tremble at the thought of Him?

Do we bow in humility when presenting our requests at His throne?  Do we realize we’re bowing before the Maker of heaven and earth?  Wow!  I know I forget that more often than not, and that needs to change.

Repeatedly it’s been burning in my heart that my heart needs help.  God, I often seek my own glory…. my own comfort…. friendship with man instead of friendship with the Man.  I seek the wrong things.  I stay busy instead of staying still.  And I repent — but do I really?  Because my history keeps repeating itself.

But then You intervene.  And suddenly I’m doing things I never dreamt I’d be doing!  Or old habits that clung to me for far too long begin fading away!!!!!!!  SUDDENLY, as in the blink of an eye, I am FREE to be …. You?  No no, You IN ME.  YOU IN ME — the unique expression of You as only I, Your unique creation, can be.  WOW!

How magnificent and wonderful and beautiful this creation is!  I am at times in awe of who I am when You show up in me.  But when You don’t, all I tend to see are vainglorious attempts at winning praise and affection.  Half-hearted attempts at, well, anything.  Emotion-led living.  Judgmental thoughts, a sharp tongue, and that ugly demon pride.

But You in me — that is a sight to behold!  That is where glory emits from my being….. because You peek Your head out and are free at last to use my feeble hands, my weak knees, my limited resources to do Your unlimited work!  To achieve the impossible.  To reach the ‘unreachable’.  To push harder and longer and endure well past my breaking point.  You, Sir, can do anything.  Through me.  Yes, even through me.

Most of us are well aware of our shortcomings.  But I like what my pastor said recently — if we as the Body of Christ operate together (as one), we don’t have to experience the pain of our weaknesses.  We don’t have to suffer on behalf of what each individual is limited to, not only because we all have CHRIST IN US (“the hope of glory”) but also because we can lean on Christ in each other to get us through.  And Christ is a beautiful thing, indeed the beautiful One.

But we must let loose our dead nature for the alive Christ to burst forth!  Our flesh only drags us down and keeps us — where else? — but on earth.  Taking on Christ’s nature and removing our dead selves allows us to soar in the heavenlies with Him.

Christ, who is our peace….

He is our peace.  He keeps us there, in peace, and at peace with one another.  He is the Keeper of the Peace and the Bringer of the Peace!  When we link arms and join hands, we are emulating Christ Jesus.

So what are we waiting for?  Why don’t we dive into the Scriptures?  Why don’t we — ahem, ME! — stop wasting time and FOCUS instead on Him, on His words to us, on what He may wanna teach us?

Why are we scared?  He only wants to remove the dead, whittle away the impurities, bumps and lumps!  He is making us beautiful, truly beautiful, what every woman longs to be (and every man longs to be near). 

John 8:12: Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I Am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

Don’t we want the LIGHT OF LIFE?  Don’t we want Him to illuminate our soul, riddled with passionate lusts that the heathens are controlled by, and bring peace and healing there?  Don’t we want Him to rise up in our spirits and spread love, glory, humility and wholeness wherever we go?

Do you want to touch the blind — and them see?

Do you want to comfort the brokenhearted — and bring healing to their loss?

Do you want to snatch the hell-bent from the flames?

Do you want to cooperate with our Father in the greatest Redemption story ever told?

Then what are you waiting for?  Go.  Do it :)  Just don’t do it alone.  Take Him with you — and invite other people to share the journey.  For our spirits are willing but our flesh is weak.  Let our kind Father’s Holy Spirit illuminate His word to you, one verse at a time, and see how your spirit comes alive.  See how He bursts forth and overcomes even your fleshly temptations, your temperament’s failures, your habitual behavior.  He can, has, and will continue to conquer all.