The Person That I Am

Issues – June 2019 – Grace & Truth Magazine

The Person That I Am

Nearly one year ago the sheriff of a county near where I live resigned. He, a career law enforcement official, had been secretly recorded while he ranted against people different from himself. His racial and cultural insults instantly drew criticism from government leaders of all sides. The sheriff’s foul language and abuse of the name of Christ had already offended people with a sensitive ear. But something caught my attention as he resigned: he tried to apologize by saying, “These remarks are not representative of the person that I am.”

It’s a nice thought – “I’m so sorry, and I’m not really like that!” – but it doesn’t make any sense, does it? Those remarks emerged from his own mouth. Before that, they were formed in his brain; and before that, they came out of his heart.

It is not as if someone else planted those thoughts in his soul and made him say them. His words revealed exactly what he is like. That is why a man who served 46 years in law enforcement was not only condemned for his comments but was instantly rejected as a leader.

The biblical view of life corresponds with this. Proverbs tell us, “As [a person] thinks in his heart, so is he” (23:7 NKJV). Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Mt. 12:34); and again He said, “Those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart” (15:18).

This man had a sense of public decency and a little self-control, so he did not commonly talk that way in public. However, during an unguarded moment and with a sense of security, whatever lived in his heart came pouring out.

This is a lesson for us. Are we honest enough to acknowledge the darkness that naturally resides in our hearts? Do we smile at coworkers but insult them in our thoughts? Do we pretend to work together for good while despising those who see things another way? Do we celebrate the power of love while harboring hate? Any time these things bubble up to the surface they are not momentary oddities – they are just who we are.

The message here is not against despising evil actions and calling them out. Jesus Christ did that too, and it is biblical to name sin for what it is. But we must admit that it is easy to notice evil words and deeds around us while ignoring the natural propensity, or tendency, we have to do the same things.

This illustrates a theological term: “the depravity of mankind.” True, we are not all as bad as we can be. We have learned a little culture and a certain amount of self-control. We polish our reputations and stand with shiny faces in public life. But left to ourselves, we are as bad off as we can be. A secret recording in an unguarded moment would unmask us too, in embarrassing, shattering revelations of who we really are.

The biblical view declares that nobody is perfect, and we would all agree with that. But the Bible adds that God demands righteousness and holiness and perfection – and on this point we either make excuses or sink in despair.

We must be made new! And here is a glorious truth: that is precisely what the biblical view of life offers. It has always been God’s purpose. The Old Testament prophets announced His words: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you!” (see Ezek. 36:26). New Testament writers brought it home: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation ... all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).

The Bible’s view of life is that we needed the death of Jesus to cover our sins, and we needed the resurrection of Jesus to make us new. Every one of us who gets renewed through Him can be empowered to overcome our natural selves. Would to God that we learn this truth!

By Stephen Campbell