stronger than gravity

I'm always a bit taken back by the amount of people who want to find external blame for their own actions/inactions. Indeed, our own culture is still making great strides at removing any possible reason why we should ever be actually responsible for anything. As a species we have become quite good at shifting blame (of course, we could easily erect a hall of fame for such ethical achievements in this arena) and are always on the lookout for other possible escape hatches for our own lack of morality.

Several years ago I wrote a small piece describing what I refer to as the "My-Bad Syndrome." A seemingly harmless yet serious condition which emerged and flourished in the mid to late 1990s, this affliction may still be observed in varying areas in the world. The key tenet of the "My-Bad Syndrome" is that individuals may be released from any moral responsibility for any action simply by acknowledging the fact that it was not a desireable outcome. Notice that there is no need to admit that any wrongdoing ever occurred, since that would mean there were moral absolutes and actual rights and wrongs to begin with. Rather, simply stating "my bad" as a way of recognizing the "situation" released any need for apology or repentance.

This syndrome was largely harmless among humans as it frequently occurred among people groups that accepted such behavior as appropriate and found no problem in exchanging such verbal statements. The big problem is that this attitude began to influence our own interaction with truth and its Author. In actuality, the "My-Bad Syndrome" was just another phase of what has been happening from the beginning - a way of removing ourselves from the seat of moral responsibility. Jesus simply would have none of this and affirmed God's absolute standard time and again.

All of the lame excuses ranging from "the devil made me do it" to "but I was born that way" do not cut it. It is the human condition to fall. We are constantly fighting an internal pull downward which is part of our own human nature. Ours is a bent toward sinning and a natural tendency to pull ourselves down.

But we are faced with a tremendous opportunity to experience the love of God, which is the only antidote to this syndrome. The acceptance of his grace remains the only hope of our downward spiral, for his love is stronger than our own gravity.