You would notice people quote C.S. Lewis often to describe the depravity of man. Lewis predicted and stated that the modern obsession with “being nice” destroys the soul. In his book, ‘The Abolition of Man’, Lewis argues that when a society stops believing in objective virtue, it doesn’t become tolerant… it becomes manipulable. He calls the result “men without chests.” People with appetites and intellects, but no courage, no honor, no trained moral instincts. They can calculate everything and defend nothing. Lewis saw that once we reject inherited moral law, we don’t become free, we become raw material… easily shaped by propaganda, pleasure, and fear.
Modern man prides himself on compassion while quietly surrendering every standard that once gave compassion meaning. Lewis’s insight is brutal: “a civilization that educates clever cowards will eventually be ruled by tyrants or technicians.” The Bible sums up appropriately on the nature of man in this way,
“There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.” “Their throat is an open [d]tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “The poison of asps is under their lips”; “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways; And the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Romans 3:11-18.
If you notice keenly, you will find that this fallen condition of human being is what we see and relate in our day-to-day life. Man, constantly and spontaneously gives himself to the evil. People try to make their own good and live it to be marketable and profitable. Sadly, it ends in self-contentment and religious sufficiency.
The outright evil that surges like a continuous wave result in the purpose of human being marred with greed and pleasure, so much so that he finds nothing worth living or dying for. When nothing is worth living or dying for, everything becomes negotiable… including human dignity. The purpose of life blurs due to the inward depravity of human soul. How do we reconcile and find redemption to our soul?
Just being nice is not the solution. Sometimes people try to be nice to find their place in family, among friends in the society and workplace for their survival and benefit. John Henry Newman with possibly the most devastating line about the spiritual life ever written: “The aim of most men esteemed conscientious and religious, or who are what is called honourable, upright men, is, to all appearance, not how to please God, but how to please themselves without displeasing Him.”
This cannot redeem human soul. For our life to be completely rescued and transformed, we need to encounter the true Savior who made provision for man’s sin and who has the capacity to transform lives. The sinful condition of a human being needs a divine solution which we can find in Christ. His holy life, death and resurrection give meaning and purpose to life beyond mere human niceness.
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