All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
“Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Knowing the Nature of Man
The above passage is Paul’s description of the nature of man. Whenever we deal with other human beings we have to take into consideration our own philosophy of mankind’s nature. In this text Paul makes the point, in the last line, that there is “no fear of God before their eyes.” Solomon tells us that the beginning of wisdom is the “fear of the Lord.” That would mean, according to Paul, that no man has any wisdom, since they do not “naturally” fear God. The inward nature of man rejects God. This is why mankind needs God’s intervention in his/her life. God must initiate work in the life of man because man would not and does not naturally seek after God. When we have interaction with others our own inward belief about their nature is the rudder of our behavior toward them. Those who believe mankind is basically good and kind and desire Godly things have a different view than those who might hold to the above text. God loves the world and wants to save them. But, He must FIRST intervene in their lives. Note what we read here:
John 6:44 (ESV Strong's)
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
Man has so rejected God that only God’s power turning man’s heart toward God will save him. Man can’t save himself. When left to himself, mankind will deceive, lie, look for ways to hurt others and never find peace; although they find ways to redefine peace. Knowing the nature of man is fundamental to how we approach them.
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