It’s Just Human Nature

That was their comeback.

When you have a chance to gain an advantage, you take it. If the cashier gives you too much change, that’s the store’s problem. If the referee doesn’t catch you, it’s not cheating. That’s just the way life works.

In some ways, I understand. These guys have lived in a system in which “legal” is often defined by race, wealth, social status, or the judge’s mood. They’ve been taught that society measures right/wrong on a sliding scale and that power is something to be grasped and wielded. They’ve been on the bottom, so when they get the opportunity to be on top they’re going to grab it.

Power and control is just the way the game is played. It’s just human nature.

My response: REMEMBER THE DREAM.

We’ve talked together about hope, about following Jesus into a different kind of life. We’ve discussed a life with less fear, less worry, less struggle.

That dream requires letting go of old habits. Simple, but surely not easy, especially for guys who’ve been taught that you fight for every scrap.

But they can’t have it both ways. You and I can’t, either.

Forget about the old things.
Do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up.
Do you not perceive it? (Isaiah 43:18-19)

We can’t perceive the new thing while we cling to the old. We can’t follow the dream if we insist on grasping old habits.

REMEMBER THE DREAM is tough advice when your whole life has been about immediate survival. REMEMBER THE DREAM is big-picture and long-term, an invitation to zero in on True North.

REMEMBER THE DREAM isn’t human nature.

It’s God’s nature.

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