It’s hard to say but what the Bible says about our nature is empirically proven by our behavior. In Genesis it speaks of the first man and woman choosing their way of following a command over the original meaning given to them by their Creator. They looked at what they were told they should not eat as having desirable values; one, it’s good to eat and two, it’s going to allow them to have significant insights in what is right from wrong. This is the Creatures first attempt to be equal to their Creator by redefining what is expected of them.
We continued in this same vein of thought on so many different Creator values. Falsehoods and near truths desired over truth. Self advancement being preferred over brotherhood.
On the other hand is this really difficult idea of perfection of human behavior by faith in the Creator’s plan. Finding in repentance a return path to a better life and freedom to become our best selves. Such a counter intuitive plan which is so effective that our best self help plans can never equal in results.
What has me buffaloed is how fast the people who worship the Creator have accommodated all the ways around the Creator’s plan as the best way to meet Him.
There are more issues separating these Creator believers than uniting them. Styles of service, types of music or how often do we use the Lord’s Supper in our worship services have increased these divisions. Where the Creator called us to unity by our love for Him, we have loved our ways more than His command, It appears that the first man and woman’s influence has spanned the centuries successfully.
So the church is naked and skeptics see our shameful treatment of each other. They assume that they are alright since they treat each other better than they see church attenders treating each other. Our blindness to this condition makes us have to homogenize what makes a person good. Our definition and Jesus’ now differ. We know He called us to love our neighbor and we want to label neighbors so we can never meet those we refuse to be near.
The age old questions are still in play. They need to be asked again. Who is my neighbor? Am I my brother’s keeper? And so a new generation has to answer these two questions. What’s your answer?