Evil exists within my heart. I know it is evil because I see the same passions in society and cringe with disbelief. Evil’s manifestation through the actions of others reveals the evil that rests within me. Who doesn’t condemn CEO Kenneth Lay who lied to shareholders as Enron was collapsing only to maximize his personal profit, but has never lied? Who doesn’t condemn the husband who commits adultery, but never lusts? People commit these acts and worse; yet even my heart is inclined to justify the lying, cheating, stealing, and lusting it quickly condemns in others. Is there hope for me?

There is something wrong with a heart that can identify an action as bad, but still has a passion for experiencing badness. It has become corrupted, and is pulled with an ever increasing intensity towards its own debasement. What can stop such a brazen pursuit of evil? Who will repair the heart? The state of our humanity is weak, hypocritical, and increasing defiled. Is there hope for us?

The decay of morality in our world is unstoppable. Have you looked around your city lately? I have; I saw men gazing at provocatively dressed women, appearing to lust in their heart, while holding the hands of another. I have overheard conversations that promote the pursuit of materialism, unhindered by ethics. I have seen murder rates rise, rapes reported, property destroyed, and corruption increased. Is there hope for our communities?

I am overwhelmed by hatred, pride, anger, and lust in our world. How is it that the passion for an object or achievement short-circuits our judgment before a person is able to decide whether it is worth pursuing? Why are anger and hatred so prevalent and how are such horrific actions justified in their name? Is there hope for our world? This world is a bad place where bad people do bad things—and I am one of us.

The only hope I see, and I say this most sincerely, the only hope I see for mankind is in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.