The darker side of Ferris wheels, football and flying

Our very human predisposition to (gulp!) sin…

Recently, at a local fair, I stood in line waiting to get tickets for the Ferris wheel.
The fair was packed, every line was moving at a snail’s pace, and my kids’ anxiety to
ride that behemoth steel structure seemed to push my patience to the edge.
Just then, about 8 bodies in front of me, near the ticket window, a lanky woman
(with child in tow) committed the unpardonable sin that governs “queues, files and linear
formations. (Sec. 208b).” She simply stepped…right into our line! It was a shameless
behavioral display that shaved off about 10 minutes of her waiting time at the expense of
common human decency…
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In September, during the first game of the football season, the New England
Patriots were caught videotaping the opposing coaches’ signals, in violation of NFL
rules. For their misdeeds, they were heavily penalized and received the scorn of the
nation as well as a barrage of critical commentary from the league’s coaches and
players….
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Shortly after my experience at the fair, I was at the airport in Asunción saying
goodbye to my mother who had come to visit me from the United States. As I was filling
out an immigration form for her, I noticed a commotion about 30 feet behind me. There
was a quick struggle, some loud gasps, and then like something out of an episode of 24,
two men quickly appeared, one brandishing a small machine gun, the other waving a
bright black handgun.
People close by immediately dove to the ground, and like the waves created when
a rock hits the pond, others went down in cascading succession, away from the epicenter
of the action. I too hit the floor waiting for that distinctive crack that only a firearm can
make.
It was over before it started, and later that day we were informed that five
assailants had overpowered the directors of a local exchange house (and their four
guards) and had sped away with over a million dollars in stolen cash. (As to why
someone walks around with that kind of money, given our electronic age, is a question
that shall remain for another time)…
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When I reflect back on all these incidences, what strikes me as pertinent is our
very human proclivity to misbehave, to run roughshod over concepts like justice and
fairness, and to blatantly disregard the moral, ethical and civil constructs of a decent
society. (For Pete’s sake!! What kind of civilian rambles about an airport carrying an Uzi
in his trench coat?!!!)

What is it that truly ails us?

There are of course several theories as to why people behave indecently, unfairly,
or even criminally. Irrationality springs from our subconscious impulses some argue, a
result of pooping and breastfeeding stages that went horribly awry.
 Others blame the environment or poor social upbringing for the ills that befall a
man. Given the right motivation and the right conditions all of us have the potential to
become decent human beings.
Oh really? Given the right conditions, these same “pillars of decency” wouldn’t
think twice about cheating on their taxes, their wives or their opponents, or better yet,
joining the ranks of those airport thieves by looting and stealing from grocery,
department and appliance stores when the rule of law breaks down and there is no chance
of getting caught. (See the Rodney King aftermath…)
Oh no…the problem of our behavior is much more complex and sinister than our
unknown impulses or environmental forces. This is because the problem is inside of us,
woven into the very fabric of our nature. We are born with a sinful disposition, and no
amount of right conditioning, or right motivation, or even right breastfeeding is going to
rid us of our tendency to do what is wrong.
And therein lies the key, for if you believe that having a decent upbringing, or
living in a decent neighborhood, or having a decent education will invariably nurture us
into being decent human beings, then we are merely dressing up the external wound
instead of killing off the internal disease. And we will continue to be shocked by how
many dastardly deeds “good and honest” people have the propensity to commit.

The source of the problem determines the solution

There is a sure fire solution to this issue provided by the God who created us, and
that is to work from the inside out, from the root of the problem to the external behavior.
But this requires an act of faith. It requires a turning over of our lives not only to God,
but to the son who took upon himself every line cutting, cheating, stealing, unfair thought
or behavior I’ve ever committed or will ever commit and nailing it to the cross. It’s the
ultimate act of surrender, and requires the gut-wrenching self-honesty to admit that given
a choice, I will always naturally opt to do what is wrong vs. what is right.
Were the term “born again” not so overused in religious and cultural circles, it
would accurately describe what occurs when God takes up residence in our heart. He
gives us a clean start, the power to choose right, the “mind of Christ,” a community to
hold us accountable, THE book of life, and the sustaining presence of his Spirit to guide
us.
Now, as to why with this incredible spiritual arsenal and the Spirit of God
residing in us, Christians still behave like little devils, the only thing I can say is don’t
blame it on God. The atrocities and crimes committed in his name throughout the
centuries and the continued moral failures of those who subscribe to the Christian faith
only confirm our abuse of the new spiritual life we have been given. It does not
invalidate what God has set out to do. In addition, even God would describe the
transformation that must take place in us as a process, one that usually lasts a lifetime.
One of the things that God does, in the spiritual exchange that takes place when
we put our trust in him, is to begin to change us from the inside out, where the problem of
behavior resides. He sets us on the right path and gives us a new object to which we can
direct our previously drifting affections and worship: that is, himself. It has often been
said that we become that which we worship. Thus, with this newfound focus, it is God’s
intention that over time, we should be molded or changed into the image of the only
perfect person to ever walk the earth, his son Jesus.
 All of us know instinctively, whether we subscribe to a religion or not, that Jesus
is the type of person that would never cut in line, never steal an opposing team’s signals,
or ever think to rob someone else’s possessions. Thus in the end, what is most need to
reform our very erring nature is not a shrink or a social worker or a motivational coach
but rather a heart surgeon. And that is a task in which God is truly an expert!