DECEITFUL & DESPERATELY WICKED

"Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart." ~Anne Frank

Even after the horrible atrocities that she and her family personally endured at the hands of the Nazi's during the Holocaust, Anne Frank made the statement above, which dramatically reflects the commonly held belief today that, "People are basically good at heart!" This oft repeated and overly optimistic view of mankind, which stubbornly refuses to acknowledge the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, must once again be reevaluated in light of fresh new atrocities committed in our nation and around the world. Combined with thousands of years of human history and the carnage left in its wake, the church shootings in Sutherland Springs, TX., and Charleston, SC. in 2015, along with the concert massacre in Las Vegas, NV., last month, just to name a few, have certainly renewed the debate concerning the capacity for evil extant within the human heart and mind.

In the aftermath of these incomprehensible massacres, we are seeing the typical landslide of media coverage, political prognostication and public outrage, all presumably aimed at ensuring that this never happens again. There are renewed calls for gun control legislation to be implemented of course, and the expected rhetorical arguments being waged on both sides of the ideological spectrum, but sadly, the results will be exactly the same as in times past; absolutely nothing of significance will be accomplished and nothing will change, except that it will most likely continue to get worse! How can that possibly be, you ask? Because all of the legislation and law enforcement tactics known to man are hopelessly inadequate for taming his deceitful and wicked heart. As the prophet Jeremiah recorded, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?      (Jeremiah 17:9)"

That sounds pretty dark and pessimistic doesn't it? Yet, this is the biblical understanding of man's predicament, and there is no reason for us to assume that the results will be any different, unless of course he has a change of heart and a change of his carnal nature that rules his mind and his desires, which can only be done through repentance and reconciliation with his creator. Have you heard anyone in the media or politicians advocating for that yet? No, and unfortunately you won't. In fact, the world system has done a marvelous job of silencing any attempt to apply this common sense approach to the problem of evil, to its own detriment. Anyone daring to even mention the spiritual ramifications of these events or that faith (or rather a lack of faith) had something to do with it, is summarily ridiculed and discredited.

One such an attempt was made by a conservative reporter, to draw a link between the Las Vegas shooter's seemingly faithless high-stakes gambling lifestyle and the mindless crime that he committed, saying that he, "...didn't believe in God or... didn't have faith in his life." This was based upon his brother's statement that he had, "No religious affiliation", which is not an entirely unreasonable conclusion, albeit, somewhat premature, but the backlash from the left against it, and against anyone even hinting at the possibility of atheism having a role to play in this heinous event was swift and overwhelming. The lines were not so blurred in the case of the church shootings of course, as the militant atheism and racism of the the perpetrators was well-known.

Regardless, the actions of all of these men, as well as the actions of like-minded killers (stated religious affiliations and apparent motivations aside), all share the same undeniable traits; a rejection of God's standard of righteousness, as found in the pages of Scripture, and a disbelief that God will hold them responsible for their actions. One might say that this is a apt description of evil itself, but our society isn't comfortable with such a definition. It prefers to use the more pseudo-scientific and secular humanist terms, such as the ones that Eric Paddock used to describe his brother Stephen, the Las Vegas shooter, speculating that, "something went wrong in his head." Others have described Paddock as a "Psychopath", or that his actions are just a big, "mystery"! For those who understand the Bible's appraisal of man's heart and mind however, there is no mystery at all!

President Trump was absolutely right when he declared the Texas church shooting to be an, "Act of evil"! Our founding fathers also knew of the evil bound up within the heart of man, which is why John Adams said, "...we have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other" (John Adams, 11 October, 1798).

Adams didn't believe that they had created a just, moral, and righteous society through the establishment of the Constitution, but that our Constitution only worked because the people who were governed by it, were already subject to the just, moral, and righteous laws that were written upon their hearts. Only God can do this work in the hearts of men, as He Himself said, "...I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people." (Jer 31:33) The focus must be on a heart that is willing to be governed by God, not a system of government that forces people to obey laws.

Remember, God's created order was just and perfect, right up until the minute that Adam and Eve refused to obey it, and from that point forward, our eyes have been opened to, "know good and evil" (I'm thinking we would have been better off not knowing it, right?) Regardless, we know it and we suffer from it daily! The frightening part of this equation is that, historically, it only seems to get worse and worse until God is forced to judge the nation or the world, for the evil that it has allowed to escalate out of control, i.e. Sodom and Gomorrah, the Flood of Noah, etc. Man has since completely rejected both of these accounts of judgement, believing that they hold no historical relevance to our age, but look at the startling reasons that God gives for bringing the flood upon the earth, in light of the wickedness of our current society:

"The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. ...The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. (Gen 6:5-13)"

Something tells me that we won't hear this being quoted on CNN tonight, or even FOX news for that matter. Probably more of the same, "People are basically good at heart!" Don't you believe it, and don't you believe that these acts of violence, whether they be church shootings or Islamic attacks against Christians, are not deliberate attempts to destroy the Church of Jesus Christ, and His followers around the world, carried out by those whose hearts and minds are controlled by the god of this world. Just as there is no coincidence in the fact that Hitler's "Final Solution" to destroy the family heritage of Anne Frank, was an act of unspeakable violence against God's chosen people, the nation of Israel.

By Pastor Glen Mustian

Works Cited:
New King James Version. Holy Bible. Thomas Nelson.
https://www.salon.com/2017/10/04/stephen-paddock-athetist-fox-and-friends/