#2 of 7 Biblical Worldview Absolutes

Something Is Wrong with the World

“Since they (mankind) did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.”  Rom. 1:28

Famine, floods, and other natural disasters, combine with war, disease, starvation and death as an everyday reality of life on this planet. Incurable diseases like cancer, AIDS, influenza and diabetes, not to mention increasing incidents of divorce, domestic violence, rape, genocide, terrorism and every kind of evil imaginable among the human race leave no doubt that something is not right – that this is not the way life should be.

Many popular TV programs graphically expose the true depravity of man, yet there remain those who insist that people are mostly “good” at the core. Such people claim that if we would learn to “focus our energy” on doing good, provide more education, and remove all “religious bigotry”, the world would be a place of peace and harmony. In the meantime, we cannot build enough prisons to hold the growing numbers of criminals worldwide, or hire enough security guards to make our schools safe.

When my wife and I were newly married 50 years ago, we attended a young couples’ Bible class in our church.  I remember a discussion one Sunday morning about man’s sin nature, and the anger one young mother expressed at the suggestion that we are born with a sin nature. She was adamant that, “Children are born good. Sinful behavior is learned from adults… it’s not innate in children.” 

The Bible says differently when it declares this truth: “ALLhave sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” When mankind first rebelled against God, all creation came under a curse (read Genesis 3). The condition of our hearts and the world in which we live is not as it should be.  The Curse of sin is a reality that cannot be hidden. A biblical worldview embraces this truth because only in doing so can we grasp the significance of the rest of the story.

Grandparents, we must not be fearful of discussing with our grandchildren the reality of our own sinful natures and the depravity of the world in which we live. Without an understanding of the desperate situation of our hearts and our world, we will never fear God or be able to grasp the wonder and depth of God’s love and grace.

GRANDPAUSE:  “To think we can BE good, that we can build a good and humane society without God, is pure folly.”  — Charles Colson