Day 2759 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

Psalm 53:3 NIV

It's one of the rather more painful truths that we have to come to terms with as we begin the process of growing within our faith. It's a truth that seems nearly impossible for us to consider. But the reality is that good people don't exist. Now you'll hear things like 'bad things happen to good people', or that so and so didn't deserve what happened to them, or one of the most common lies, that life is unfair. Truth is that no matter what hand we're dealt or how inconvenient or uncomfortable it may be, we all deserve far less and far worse than we have.

Yesterday we discussed how all of us have at one time or another bought this common misconception that tells us we're better than we are. We've fallen in love with listening to our arrogant and prideful hearts as they convince us that we're free from flaws and immune to making mistakes. We've convinced ourselves that sin isn't all that dangerous or that it doesn't really even exist at all. All of those lies sprouting from the same underlying inability to reconcile our fallen condition with the truth that we find God's Word.

So many people will happily tell you all about how the truth hurts. And boy, as humans we instinctually flee from pain. If it hurts then we're sure it's wrong. If it wounds then we run. If we find ourselves feeling uncomfortable then we retrace our steps back to the illusions and delusions that afford us a more easy-going way of life. So when God's truth comes along with a message like this one in Psalm 53, we balk at the possibility of it being genuine. How can there be no one who does good? How can it be true that all of humanity has descended into the darkness of depravity?

How can a God who claims to be all about love author a word that says that we're corrupt and unsatisfactory and unbecoming?

How can we possibly accept this alternate version of reality that tells us we're not actually what we've long thought to be? How do we mix the lies which bring us comfort with the truth that calls us out? One of my personal favorite questions which I honestly believe is an amazing piece of evidence for the proof of our Christian faith is why would anyone choose to believe in something that requires them to admit they're wrong and filthy and worthy of a miserable death?

Because the truth is unavoidable. God's Word is unwilling to compromise with our desire to be left alone to wallow in the lies that bring us comfort in the form of not having to deal with the fact that we've messed up so many times that we should have absolutely no hope of anything good whatsoever.

And yet that's simply not what we see in our world anymore. There's no sorrow over our sinfulness. There's no remorse over the countless times we've done what ought not be done. There's no shame, no regret, no humility leading people to their knees where they dispense all their miserable guilt at the foot of the cross in hopes that Christ can really do something with all the broken pieces that are all we have left to offer.

Instead, we see a world where sin is celebrated. We see individuals and groups and companies and leaders in this rush to appease the fallen while breaking their necks to avoid having to acknowledge the inescapable reality of how bad things are and the dangerous downward trajectory in which society still points. Even things that were once thought harmless and safe for little children must now be filtered and reconsidered in a dire effort to ensure our little ones aren't being indoctrinated with the vile ideals of a fallen world.

The point is that a long time ago, we humans got it in our minds that we could do this our way and find all the pleasure and pride that our hearts could desire without needing God's righteous commands and laws there bringing us down. We didn't just get kicked out of the Garden, we puffed our chests and stormed away from God's design in search of our own desires. Rather than humbly accepting our wayward wrongs, we took God's rebuke personally and adopted this "well I'll show you" mentality which has led us to find new and exciting ways in which to break His heart.

Humanity has long been on a path diverging from God, and most will continue along that road because it's seemingly filled with this freedom to be as filthy and depraved as possible without the slightest hint at any danger in shirking God's call to turn and repent. Who needs to repent when you're having fun, right? Why should we admit we're wrong when everything we do is considered okay by so many others? Why listen to a single voice telling us that we're broken when we have a whole society patting us on the back and blinding us with praise and filling our ears with messages convincing us that we're good?

Friends, the whole point is that there will come a time when the truth we've been running away from will suddenly lie before us yet again. Life isn't the linear journey that we believe it to be. It's a circle. Now we're free to spend every waking moment we’re given in this world running from God, but there's no avoiding the fact that He awaits each of us at the finish line of our time here. So it's not a matter of if but when. There is no if when it comes to the truth. It's a matter of when we're going to deal with it.

So why would anyone believe in a faith that requires us to admit our guilt and confess our sins and accept how far we've fallen? Because it just makes sense. There is right and there is wrong. There are laws and therefore law breakers. And when we humble our hearts to seeing beyond our pride, we can finally realize that we've made mistakes. We can admit that we've done wrong. We can come to terms with the truth that we are not good people nor have we lived perfect lives. We're sinners and sinners need a Savior because we simply have not and cannot be what God demands all by ourselves.

Yeah, it hurts to admit, and that pain will unfortunately keep many running away from God. But living our lives believing this lie that tells us we're good people who don't deserve to be reprimanded or rebuked or punished will only bring those very things down upon our heads. There's going to be pain in this journey one way or another. We can flee from it for our entire lives in this place only to find an eternal wealth of misery awaiting us on the other side of forever. Or we can humble our hearts and walk out every miserable humiliating step to lay our sins at the feet of Jesus and hope that He truly is our Healer.

Friends, lies are comfortable, but they do nothing for us except allow us to stay where we are. It's up to every individual to decide whether or not that's good enough. I can't make that choice for you, but I can offer the truth found in Scripture that will hopefully assist in making that all important choice. Where we are is sinful, broken, lost, and confused. But in Christ we have a chance to change all that for the better. Believe it or not, accept it or not, the truth is what it is. And what it ultimately is is unavoidable.

#LeaveNoSoulUntold