Monday Devotion

Monday: I’m okay, You’re okay
by Jarod Anderson

People are basically good, right? I mean, we all start out good and get corrupted by our parents, or our friends, or our culture, or maybe it’s the tv… This world tries to teach us that it’s not our fault we’re the way we are; it’s somebody else or some other influence that turns people into selfish, dishonest jerks. If we could only tap into that “natural goodness” that sits deep inside each person…

I have three kids under the age of six. Most of you who’ve been at camp before have seen them in action. From birth, they’re so cute and funny and…evil?? Don’t get me wrong, my kids aren’t some sort of devil children that need holy water sprinkled on them to “exorcise the demons,” they’re just kids. And kids, from a very early age, are inherently selfish. Some of my kids’ first words were, “no!” and “mine!” I didn’t have to teach them to steal toys from other kids. I didn’t have to teach them to hit other kids when their toys were taken. I didn’t teach them to scream at their mother or to deceive their siblings, and I definitely didn’t teach them to look at me defiantly and say, “NO!” They learned these things on their own, almost as if they were programmed that way.

Read Galatians 5:19-21. These verses talk about the “acts of the sinful nature.” Literally, Paul calls these evil things “the acts of the flesh.” It’s what comes naturally, what is ingrained in all of us from an early age. I’d like to say that I can read these verses and not see myself at all, but it’s not the case. All of us can see ourselves in at least one of these “acts.” Can you honestly say that you’ve never been jealous? or harbored bitterness toward someone? or had impure thoughts?

Now Read Romans 3:23-26. All of us have sinned. We’ve all come up short of what God wants us to be. But the good news is this: God made a way for us to be made right. In sending Jesus to die for us, he saved us, not only from the sins we’ve committed, but also from the sins we will commit. What we have to do now is make it our goal to become the people he wants us to be. Only by his help, by his sacrifice, can we do this.

Take Time to pray. Ask God to forgive you for the things you’ve done that you know were wrong. Be honest with Him; if you really want Him to help you change, ask for His help. You can be forgiven; you can change. It starts right now.