The Petty Depravity of Man

Yesterday, I was filling up at the gas station and had a rather interesting observation.

In the pump right across from mine, a gentleman had pulled up to the pump, but discovered that he was on the wrong side and needed to turn around. He passed the pump and started to make a three point turn to get on the right side. At that moment, a "lady" had turned into the station area, and quickly accelerated to steal the pump away from him. He saw this, and explained to her that he was trying to turn around and that he had been waiting for the pump. She looked at him with one of those "F*** You" looks, shook her heard, and started filling up. I found this to be so interesting and mind-wracking. I thought to myself, "How could someone be so inconsiderate and selfish? It's only a gas pump. All you have to do is wait maybe 2 more minutes."

The depraved and sinful nature of man permeates all areas of life. Usually we think of manifestations of depravity in the "major" things. For example, someone commits a gruesome murder and we think, "what is this world coming to." We hear stories about financial advisers stealing from their clients and say, "well, that's because the world is getting worse." Such examples are evidence that we live in a fallen world, but the extent of depravity is not only seen in our most "extreme" examples.

Rather, total depravity is exemplified in the "little things." The extent of the sinfulness of man most often does not lie in extremes, but in subtle widespread permeation. To have a grasp of the concept, we must understand that depravity does not lie in the fact that we CAN be AS bad as we can be, but in the understanding that EVERYTHING within us IS bad. Depravity is petty. I would submit that the depravity of man is MOST OFTEN manifested in examples that are not very extreme, but instead, somewhat petty. 99% of the people in the world will never physically kill someone, but 100% will, at one point in their life, harbor hatred. Few people will ever go rob a bank, but 100% will lie or cheat. Very few people would randomly assault others, but everyone treats others with contempt in some instances.

Getting back to the gas station. I found myself wanting to confront the young woman at the pump. You know, give her a piece of my mind in a confrontational and aggressive way. But something held me back. It was cold outside, and I was wearing my CCM sweater that had "Galatians 2:20" prominently on the front. Right when I was going to say something, the immediate thought was, "dang, I don't want to make Christians look bad." Honestly, if I did not have the sweater on, I would have confronted her. Looking back, I'm glad that I didn't do so because confrontation would have been much more self-gratifying than God-glorifying. In this particular instance, it was more difficult to walk away than to confront the situation.

This is not a self-righteous, self-indulgent attempt to say, "oh, look at me overcoming temptation." I think that this provides such an interesting real-life model for what the spiritual reality in the Christian life. Despite our own shortcomings, our desire to continue to act sinfully and to meet our selfish desires, we are no longer abandoned to such a life. God has given us the Holy Spirit, through the work of Christ, to be able to overcome such temptations to sin. Christians are, in a sense, "clothed" with a restraint. We being faillible and still very sinful people, continue to fail. We must continue to seek to live more and more "by faith" and in consistent understanding that the life we live, is not our own. We have been bought with a price and the "buyer" will not abandon us to live a life without His guidance. What we must do is to seek Him in everything we do, with the understanding that in the times that we fail (all too often, we find that the case), He has the grace to forgive.

Verses of the Day:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
- Galatians 2:20


In the same way, count yourselves dea to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
- Romans 6:11-14