The Human Heart

There is a general belief among many westerners that humans are inherently good. We don't need a God to tell us about morality, because moral law is deep within our hearts.

The Christian belief is opposite, that we are inherently evil and are only saved through the grace of God. We know what is good from God.

Anyways, I was reading The Resurgence Blog and came across this great entry on the human heart. These questions are great questions to ask when you need to figure out whether or not your heart is inherently good or evil:

• How do you conjure love when you hate your ex? Or the person who slanders you? Or your self-absorbed friend?
• How do you make yourself joyful when you are paralyzed by fear and insecurities?
• How do you summon peace when you are flooded by worries about your past, or present, or future?
• How do you make yourself patient when your anxiety wakes you up at night or you can feel the anxiety in your body?
• How do you invoke kindness when there are so many people who act like your enemy?
• How do you strive for gentleness when you know that the meek are treated like doormats?
• How do you stir-up goodness when badness erupts so naturally and feels more immediately fulfilling?
• How do you enact self-control when your desire for quick pleasure is so out of control?

Inherently good, that would be nice, but it's impossible. Some people have more control over these areas of evil than others, which is why there are seemingly good people and seemingly evil people. In reality, we're all just as capable of the worst evil as anyone else.

If we always follow our hearts, we'll rot away in selfishness. Following God's will is the only true way, because God is good. Goodness is God.