what is man?

What is man?

In an age of optimism, self-esteem, and progress, I’m sure I’ll be labeled a pessimist. At the end of the day, I really don’t care because I feel that if one is truly honest, they will come to the same conclusion. If you have a warped and incorrect view of what man is, then you will also have warped and incorrect view of man’s troubles and problems. We live in a world that operates on the basis that one has the right to express themselves as they wish, even at the expense of others. Therefore, whatever one likes is therefore of necessity legitimate. Man has set himself up as the highest authority and answers to no one. All the talk about sin and depravity is foolish and only leads to self-repression, which is of course the only sin. What at one time was labeled sin, is now just self-expression and is the highest and most vital possession that man has. Man is merely a result of his environment and instincts and his highest good is found in exercising these powers. At the same time, those who take a stand for what God has revealed as sin are labeled as a bigot, psychopath, and is not only sinning against himself but also against humanity at large. Thus, evil is called good and good is deemed evil.

For some reason, we all have a warped view of what the norm of history and society has revealed to us. Just a cursory look at history will show the norm and default mode of society is far more riddled with war, violence, and conflict rather than this false sense of utopia and peace that we all tend to assume. In fact, history is basically a study of war and struggle between nations and individuals. There never has been a time of universal peace and when peace does occur, it is by far an abnormality, not the norm. That said, what has caused all this conflict, war, death, disease, and suffering?

The first thing we must point out is that man fails to recognize the true nature of self. It’s obvious that before expression must come definition. Man does not understand that his true nature is depraved and not good. The Gospel is not a call to self-repression, rather it is a call back to the realization of the true nature of man. The current view of man does not differentiate between the self and the factors that influence the self or the factors which one uses to express themselves. In reality, man is nothing more than a result of these factors and their effects. These factors may be biological which says that man is nothing more than a mechanism and his personality and self is purely the result of biological forces. Closely related is those that view man in terms of instincts. Still others view man in terms of his environment and geographical or climactic location. The one thing that all these views have in common is that the self has become lost. It is not longer a distinct entity, rather is regarded merely as a result produced by the interaction of these various forces and factors. Self-expression simply means allowing these factors to have free play and exercise in his conduct. Furthermore, to restrain these factors is to do violence to himself.

In Matthew 18:8-9, Jesus says, “And if your hand or your foot causes you sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.” Notice that Jesus does not identify the self with these instruments and powers. In fact, the true self is far more important and greater. They are simply the servants and instruments which the self is to control and use according to its will. According to Christ, man is not simply the result of biological and environmental factors. He is much more. There is another element within man that transcends all these--the soul. To identify the self as nothing more than a result of various factors is nothing more than an attempt to justify and rationalize sin. It chooses to deliberately ignore that which does not fit its scheme or system. Thus, we see that this view of man robs him of his greatest glory, his soul and spirit, which attests that there is more to him than just his body. It is therefore an insult to him and God because it reduces him to the level of a beast or animal and blatantly ignores the fact that man has been created and bears the image of God Himself.

Not only is the self separate and distinct from the hands, the feet, and the eyes, but it also may be “offended” by them. Not only do the various instincts and impulses fail to true and only self, but may actually be the greatest enemy, source of offense, and cause of damnation. Here is something which most people ignore altogether because their view of sin is false and fails to recognize the danger that threatens the self from within. This recognition of sin is the whole crux of the matter. It is sin that has introduced this complexity. The very faculties that were designed to be servants of man has become his master. There is nothing more dangerous than to allow these faculties to guide us because of sin.

How tragic and foolish it is to ignore sin! A travesty and yet that very principle is being advocated for today. The reality that sin is being ignored and self-expression encouraged is fraught with the most dangerous consequences conceivable. There is only one test of whether or not something is right, the test of pleasure and enjoyment. If it is your desire to stifle your conscience, murder your reason, and quench every desire of higher and nobler things which arise in you, and if your desire is merely to satisfy your lust and the craving for pleasure, then go for it! Just realize that the true way to express the self is the way of discipline and order, reason and prayer, the voice of conscience and encouraging every uplifting thought and desire. The world may regard you as a fool, and from its standpoint you will certainly be maimed and have but one eye, but you will be a man worthy of the name. Jesus said that we should expect opposition, persecution, and resistance. They hated Him, what makes us think that the world will not hate us as well. Hold fast to the Cross of Christ which alone can give meaning to sinful and depraved humans!

[Much of this is a meditative reflection based on Truth Unchanged, Unchanging by Martyn Lloyd-Jones that I’m currently reading]