The Heart Of A Terrorist

People’s hearts are really all the same – generally self-centered and opportunistic.

The Heart Of A Terrorist

In the late 1980s, a teaching colleague of mine commented on political world events and suggested peace would soon be “breaking out all over.” The 1990s did not support his prediction. More recently, the vicious terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 caused Americans to feel deeply and personally the raw emotion and insecurity which some other countries have been experiencing almost as a lifestyle.

Seeing images of the Twin Towers burning and then collapsing; viewing Internet reports of crashing planes and doomed-yet-heroic airline passengers; hearing descriptions of memorial services for lost firefighters; these experiences wrench heartstrings and cause one to murmur, “Oh, dear God,” in a prayer which finds no other words to add. The pain inflicted has been undeniably real. The terrorists’ actions were undeniably evil. A terrorist’s heart is patently wicked. It is as if someone set out purposely to fulfill Isaiah 59:7 (NKJV): “They make haste to shed innocent blood ... wasting and destruction are in their paths.”

But we should recognize that this same verse was used by the Apostle Paul, in a collage of Old Testament references which we know as Romans 3:10-18. Significantly, the New Testament text does not condemn the unrighteousness of one nation, as Isaiah’s words do. Instead, Romans 3:19 concludes, “That every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.”

A Common Guilt
All the world guilty? It is a somewhat stupefying concept when the Twin Towers tragedy is the backdrop. But consider the following news items reported during the weeks following September 11.

° A toll collector continued to charge motorists passing through his booth on the day of the attacks, though the highway authority had temporarily suspended the tolls. A supervisor found he had taken more than $700 from unsuspecting drivers.1

° Authorities investigated whether trucking companies, hired to haul tons of World Trade Center debris to approved sites, had instead diverted loads to other scrap yards to be sold for their own profit.2

° Radio news stories said a few rescue and excavation workers at Ground Zero, the attack site, had taken items from destroyed shops at the site. Meanwhile, in a news conference following the attack, New York City’s police commissioner said bomb scares had risen from an average of eight per day to 100, as crazed people stirred up fear in the attack’s aftermath.

° A man traveled through New York and other states posing as a firefighter who had helped at Ground Zero, playing on sympathies to receive free food and lodging and then using those opportunities to steal cash and goods.3

° Opportunists raised prices on American flags and created fake charitable fund drives conducted by telephone and Internet. Conversely, legitimate containers placed in convenience stores to collect donations were stolen.4

° A couple conspired to collect $200,000 on a mortgage insurance policy when the husband falsely claimed his wife had been killed in the attacks.5

Good, But Not Enough
True, none of these individuals took thousands of lives by steering planes into landmark office buildings. Still, the above list indicates that, at bottom, people ’s hearts are really all the same – generally self-centered and opportunistic. God’s assessment in the Bible declares that the human heart is beyond repair: “All have sinned” (Rom. 3:23).

Some may protest this flat assessment. Although the terror attacks were appalling, it must be observed that the national outpouring of assistance which followed was equally unparalleled. Reports of hours-long lines at blood donation centers were common. Children sold baked goods, lemonade, and handcrafted patriotic symbols to raise money for relief efforts. Famous entertainers organized a fund drive which received millions of dollars. Emergency officials had to ask people in New York and New Jersey to “hold off on further donations of food and goods” because warehouses couldn’t keep up.6 Non-profit organizations collected more than $700 million in less than a month;7 businesses contributed millions more. In a radio interview on December 6, 2001, New York’s mayor said total donations had topped two billion dollars.

Some may feel these examples negate the Bible’s declaration of a sin-filled human heart. That idea would be acceptable if those who were well-intentioned were also perfect. The Bible is unyielding: “By the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:20). Good can never balance out bad, because “whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all” (Jas. 2:10). God’s law is a composite whole. As a water glass drains its contents through just one thin crack, so a breach in God’s law at just one point violates the entire structure.

The Answer To Depravity
This is what is meant by the classic theological phrase, “the total depravity of man.” The doctrine of depravity does not mean people are as bad as they can be. They are not. We have just recounted events which prove that, while some are doing astonishingly bad things, others are attempting to do very good things. But depravity means something else: that people are as bad off as they can be. God has declared all to be under sin, and even those who attempt to do good have nothing to boast of when the standard is God’s righteousness (Gal. 3:22; Rom. 3:27). Like the lost coin in Luke 15, depraved men and women cannot come to God on their own; they cannot please God in their natural state.8

What then causes outpourings of kindness and donations of material wealth? Perhaps they may be seen as one of the clearest proofs that man, even in a fallen and depraved state, retains something of the image of God (Jas. 3:9). Heinous actions can still be condemned, and good can still be desired. But all who are honest will admit that – warm and generous impulses notwithstanding – thoughts, words, and actions remain marked by the impurities of sin.

The real answer for the human heart is settled only in the work of Christ. He was sent by God to be the Savior of the world (1 Jn. 4:14), because the whole world needed a Savior. God’s righteousness has now been satisfied towards those who respond in faith. Through His death and resurrection, Christ has paid the penalty for every sin and has redeemed believers from the curse of the law, so that we are not only forgiven but actually made righteous in Him (Rom. 3:24-26; Gal. 3:13).

Two Results
Two practical realizations should grip every believer as a result. First, although Christians are not perfect, their failings are not God’s fault. As Christ’s disciples, we should not be content when selfishness, anger, dishonesty, or any of their kin show themselves in our lives, since God’s work in us through His Spirit is able to overcome those works of the flesh if we are willing. This is how we advance in the day-to-day sanctification which should characterize the lives of maturing Christians.

Second, although non-Christians are not all terrorists, their goodnesses are nothing before God. Our relatives, friends, and neighbors need Christ, not their caring impulses, if they will avoid eternal judgment. Prominent voices have made much of the supposed equivalence of various religious beliefs, especially since September 11. The God of the Bible knows no such equivalence. He replies, “I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me there is no savior” (Isa. 43:11). Christians should not wage religious wars against non-Christians, but neither should we allow ourselves to be swallowed up by a sea of apparent good-heartedness, emerging with only a half-hearted gospel and a feel-good Savior.

The terror attacks exposed our dark world for what it is. The hearts of many of those we pass on the sidewalk every day are shrouded in equal darkness. We know and have the Light. Let it shine: “You are the light of the world ... Let your light so shine before men” (Mt. 5:13, 16).

END NOTES
1. Mays, J. C., “Turnpike worker accused of pocketing tolls,” The Star-Ledger, Sept. 28, 2001, p. 15
2. Sterling, G., “Carting of debris to Newark yard is under investigation,” The Star-Ledger, Sept. 29, 2001, p. 6
3. Sink, L., Barrett, R., & Rohde, M., “Man posed as firefighter to bask in hero tributes,” The Star-Ledger, Nov. 4, 2001, p. 31
4. Leusner, D., “Jerseyans file complaints about scams and price gouging following attacks,” The Star-Ledger, Sept. 19, 2001, p. 26. “Lindenwold man charged in donation theft,” The Star-Ledger, Sept. 28, 2001, p. 15
5. “Georgia couple denied bond in terror insurance fraud case,” Nov. 29, 2001, Online HTTP://www.cnn.com/ 2001/LAW/11/28/terror.death.fraud/index/html
6. Malinconico, J., “A bounty of aid off Route 22,” The Star-Ledger, Sept. 19, 2001, p. 13
7. McGlone, P., “Four cases of WTC fundraising come under state’s scrutiny,” The Star-Ledger, Oct. 5, 2001, p. 12
8. For a helpful discussion of this point, see the chapter entitled “Depravity” in Things Which Become Sound Doctrine, by J. Dwight Pentecost, Westwood, NJ: Fleming H. Revell, 1965

by Stephen Campbell