The Human Condition

We don’t know ourselves very well. The story of Peter declaring his loyalty to Jesus is an illustration of this reality. After Jesus told him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you yourself will disown me three times” (Mk. 14:30), Peter responded, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you” (v. 31). A few hours later, when confronted by a servant girl, Peter denied that he knew Jesus. Peter thought he would be loyal to Jesus but he was wrong.

Likewise, psychological studies such as the Stanford Prison Experiment and the Milgram Experiment show that when respected students and citizens are placed in challenging situations, they often behave in harmful and immoral ways. A new situation can bring out a different and disturbing aspect of our character.

The same idea is expressed in literature. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies young and educated British boys are stranded on an island and eventually turn into savages. And long before Golding, Plato told the story of the ring of Gyges. Gyges was an honorable shepherd who found a ring. When he put the ring on his finger and turned it he became invisible. So what did this good shepherd do with his newfound power? He used it to kill the king and marry the queen.

So how well do we know ourselves?

Are we really as good as we think we are?

Our knowledge of ourselves is limited by the situations we have been in. But what would we be like with a lot of power or surrounded with various temptations?

If that thought experiment doesn’t affect your high estimation of yourself, consider the following:

• Young children naturally lie and steal. We go astray from an early age without other people teaching us to do so. What would we be like if others didn’t discipline us?
• The fear of punishment restrains evil. What if all police officers and security cameras were removed? What if our government collapsed and our constitution was no longer in effect? How safe would we be? How good would we be?
• Our comfortable lifestyles restrain evil. How nice would we be if we lost electricity for a month? What if the grocery stores ran out of food? What if we could no longer buy gas for our cars?

We may think we are good, but we are skilled at evaluating ourselves too highly. Jeremiah said it this way:

The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it? (17:9)

Jesus goes straight to the point and calls us evil: “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matt 7:11)

And Paul goes to great lengths to establish the point of universal guilt before God.

9 What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. 10 As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;
11 there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”
13 “Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.”
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”
14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 ruin and misery mark their ways,
17 and the way of peace they do not know.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. (Rom. 3:9-19)

Note that Paul is quoting the Old Testament throughout this passage to prove his point that the law does not justify us; rather it reveals our sinfulness. As he says three verses later, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). So this point is established by Jeremiah, Jesus, Paul, and many other biblical authors. Moreover, salvation and Christ’s death do not make sense without an acceptance of human corruption.

We need a renewed awareness of our depravity. As Jesus said, “No one is good—except God alone” (Mk. 10:18). “No one is good.” “There is no one righteous.” This understanding of human nature will prevent us from thinking too highly of others and ourselves. It will keep us praying, “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matt. 6:13). And it will lead us to look for salvation outside of ourselves.

Les Bridgeman

After graduating from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I served as a high school Bible teacher in Asia. I enjoy traveling, writing, and playing the drums. My latest book focuses on Paul’s work as a tentmaker and what it means for today.