Depravity

Shootings, suicide, murder, eating disorders, cancer, plane crashes, drugs, terrorism, natural disasters, fornication, adultery, human trafficking, recession, bankruptcy, war. We read this on the cover of a magazine, at the local newsstand; we see it on the television and the computer screen. Everywhere we look we are assaulted by one simple fact: the world we live in is broken, is stuck in utter depravity.

And that’s exactly what Satan wants us to see. Discouraging, isn’t it?

A few months ago I had the displeasure of being called an idealistic, ignorant b****. Ouch. Said name caller stood there for ten minutes and ranted, raved, and questioned me on how I could believe in God when this world is so messed up, when so many bad things happen.

I stood there for what must have been a full minute with my mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. In that minute my thinker-box decided to climb out of my head and flee down the street, screaming. I had no clue what to say, until something occurred to me:

Love, joy, friendship, heroism, selflessness, sacrifice, integrity, patriotism, charity, forgiveness, courtesy, kindness, Godliness. The things hidden on the back pages of those magazines and newspapers, the stories told at 3 a.m. on the news stations, the articles stowed away at the very bottom of websites. These are some of the many reasons that I can believe in God.

I can believe in God because in such a sinful, depraved world, good still exists. People are still willing to be kind to one another, to put other’s interests and lives above their own.

Satan wants us to see all the awful things that go on in this world; he wants us to become discouraged, to question if God really cares. But if you look past the veil Satan has put in front of our eyes then you can see the good that still exists. You can see God working through others to help the world, even though we constantly rebel against Him. If you just take a minute to look, then you can see everything that God has blessed us with.

Yes the world is full of sin and ugliness, but it’s also full of joy and life, of the promise for a better tomorrow, the promise of salvation. It all depends on how you look at things. I chose to see God where I look, not what Satan wants me to see.