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| What do raising children and reforming convicts have in common?  Did the headline make you chuckle? I thought it might. Although this sounds like the opening for a comedian's act, there is a similarity. Usually, man approaches both with philosophically wrong assumptions, resulting in solutions doomed to failure. Much of today's philosophical approach to man is based on the assumptions that (1) man is basically good. Therefore, (2) negative behavior must come from the environment. But what does the Bible say? What About Character? How does this mindset affect child-rearing? As a father, “the experts” say my role is to provide my children with a positive environment that will nurture their internal goodness. Recently, someone sarcastically commented that successful parenting boils down to this: get the kid in enough activities and the right schools so he/she can get into the right university so that upon graduation they can get a high paying job. I guess if my children have the right surroundings, character is supposed to take care of itself! What does the Bible have to say about the condition of children? Proverbs 22:15 says, “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of discipline will remove it far from him.” Ps. 58:3 says, “The wicked go astray from the womb, they err from their birth speaking lies." Even David says in Ps. 51:5, “Behold I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” Far from being “basically good,” it appears children are corrupted from birth. Merely providing a positive environment will not change that. |  Basically Good Criminals What about criminal reform? Again, is not the “basically good” approach being taken? Some say our prisons need to reflect less discipline and more nurturing, enabling the suffocated good to come out of the incarcerated. But what if there isn't any “good” to come out? This philosophy extends beyond the crib and cell into any of man's many social ills. Some say what is needed are environments that provide opportunities. To them the problem is external not internal. But the Bible contradicts this, focusing on the internal problem of mankind -- sinners in rebellion against God, completely without goodness or righteousness. But all of us know people who are not believers, but are still basically good. What about them? A professor at seminary explained it this way: a man may not be as bad as he could be, but he is as bad off as he could be. Mr. Johnson, next door, may not be the next Adolf Hitler, but without Christ Mr. Johnson is going to spend eternity in the same place as Mr. Hitler. In both men, there is a heart problem and what is needed is radical change. Terminal Illness This brings it to the church's door. Many would see the need for radical change on the part of an Adolf Hitler; but Mr. Johnson just needs an education. Can you see how we have fallen prey to a focus on the externals? The tendency is to think all Mr. Johnson needs is to quit swearing and become a Republican. The “solution” is for Mr. Johnson to quit fishing on Sunday mornings and come to church. But, these are only external solutions to an internal problem. Mr. Johnson needs every bit of the repentance we would prescribe for Hitler. True, Mr. Johnson may not have been responsible for the deaths of untold millions, but he still needs to accept Christ's payment for his sins. External applications will never bring about the results desired in mankind. We must be wary of ill-fated philosophies based on the assumption of man's inherit goodness. Whether dealing with reformation or salvation, change comes when the focus is internal and the condition is recognized as terminal. |