“…among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others”.
Ephesians 2:3
“Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually”.
Genesis 6:5
The physical nature of man is evil. The Church doesn’t like to hear this. “Man is good”, they say – Wrong.
“How can man be bad with a divine soul in his body?”, is the classic question they ask. The answer is because the moral soul is still bound up in the biological, physical body.
Man exists is in a constant state of conflict between the evil desire of his flesh and his moral soul. Polygamy is biologically natural to man, while monogamy is unnatural, and only accomplished with great effort. The physical nature of man is to do what is wrong, this is a fundamental axiom of the world, because our physical bodies crave many things that the Lord has placed restrictions on.
To reject the evil nature of man is to reject reality itself. To pretend that the thoughts of a man’s heart are not evil continually is to deny an observable scientific fact. To test this, simply think back on all the times you wanted to take a certain action simply because you were told not to. Rebellion is in our earthly nature and we have to wage war against it.
From an earthly perspective, man must do whatever he must to survive, this naturally pulls him towards evil. Why? Because it’s easier to steal your neighbors food than to find your own, therefore the Lord says “thou shalt not steal” (Ex. 20:15). It is simpler to envy your neighbors property, wife or career than it is to be content with your own, therefore the Lord commands “Thou shalt not covet”(Ex 20:17). The commands of the Lord oppose our earthly nature, and mentally we must oppose our fleshly nature as well.
We must resist, escape and redirect our tremendously evil nature in the pursuit of a greater good. Man loves progress and achievement, therefore the Lord has placed within us a very nature that itself must be conquered; and it’s conquering will serve as one of our greatest achievements, for it represents mastery over the Self.
Begin the demolition of your evil nature today.
Mantra
My evil must be contained. My evil must be controlled. My nature is controlled by the power of my thoughts. With my thoughts I shape the reality of who I am.
Application
Today, simply observe yourself. Observe your natural inclinations and see what it is that you wish to do. Take inventory of every desire you have for one day and then try to convince yourself that you aren’t pulled towards evil and that you are naturally good. How many women do you see each day that you want to have sex with? You don’t even know them. The nature of your genitalia and internal chemistry causes natural desire that is evil, especially if acted on.
How many times have you been tempted to murder someone in your life? Why would you desire to do such a thing unless your physical body pulls you towards evil?
Take inventory of yourself, come to grips with the reality of your evil nature, then get to work on fixing it.
Conduct yourselves like Men.
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