Originally posted by Charlotte Marcel:
Are we incapable of having any higher motivation such as God or others as human beings, saved or unsaved?
I'm not cynical about people, and I've been on this earth for over 60 years, I've seen struggles with human nature, and selfishness. But I've also seen great charity and godliness.
Are God's words useless because the lessons are beyond our ability? Why would He admonish us to do what we are incapbable of? I don't think He would.
No, I am not a cynic. I am an optomist.
God Bless You,
Charlotte
God's words are not difficult to follow, they are absolutely impossible to follow! We cannot serve God, or to do anything good for the right motives without God's Grace and without the Spirit of God living inside of us. Yes, there are random acts of kindness, there are great and small philanthropies, even sometimes by very evil people (even a blind hog gets an acorn now and then...), but the ultimate judge on the general character of human beings is the Bible. The reason that it was necessary for God to send His Son to be the propitiation (a sacrifice that turns wrath aside) for our sins is that we are helpless sinners without His grace.
Is 64:6-7, Jer 17:8-10, Gen 6:1-5, 8:21, Rom 1:18-3:20, Rom 3:24, Eph 2:1-3, Romans 7, 1 Cor 2:14, Ecc 7:29, Ps 58:3, Ps 51:1-5, John 2:24-25, 1 Tim 1:15, Mat 1:21, Romans 8:6-7, 2 Pet 2 (the whole chapter), 2 Thes 2:3-12, etc. etc., This list came off the top of my head without referring to any notes! Without the grace of God operating in His people and also commonly in the world to restrain evil (2 Th 2:7), this world would be hell on earth everywhere all the time.
As it is, my background as an expert in international relations and my military career have afforded me an opportunity to see what life is like in most of the world. At any one time, there are usually 40-45 wars going on in the world, usually motivated by racial hatred, jealousy, and perverse religious ideas. More people died in wars in the 20th century than in the history of man previous to that century.
Having a healthy cynicism is not only advisable, it is doctrinally correct and is also backed up by common experience. I am not a pessimist (I believe in redemption by the blood of Jesus and that He is returning), and I am not an optomist (without God, nothing is possible), I am a Biblical realist. Soli Deo Gloria.
