The problem of our character

It is programmed in the nature of each of us that it is natural for us to do good things, but at the same time there is a kind of spiritual poison in our nature, a specific form of pride, blindness and negative manners which practically destroy that which is positive in us. And this is the same in all people, only the tint is slightly different in each. Behind certain natural gifts there is the poison of sin which we have inherited from Adam. It only takes different forms. It is the old self in disguise which has only one aim: It refuses to repent and to call the poison in us, that which is negative, by its proper name, and if anyone touches it, the fat is in the fire. The old self has a wonderful inbuilt defence mechanism. It even has a perfect ability to sense, suspect or exaggerate, just not to be touched. It’s like a mania with some people. Apart from that, there are also positive gifts. Let us think of the multibillionaire Bill Gates, for example, who is a pioneer in the field of computers. He really has received exceedingly great natural gifts from God, but he uses them to serve the devil and his own pride rather than God, heading for his own destruction and the destruction of others. This is a picture of the old self, so we need not be jealous that God has not endowed us with such intelligence or skills as Mr Gates or other “clever” servants of the devil. Apparently, he was inspired directly by a demon, but that’s another question. The Word of God says – you cannot serve God and mammon. When the devil tempted Christ: “I will give You all power and glory if You worship me”, the response was the words of Christ: “Be gone, Satan!” So we fight a spiritual battle not only against the spirit of darkness and the system of the world but we especially fight it in our hearts. Our heart is the main battleground, where the fight for our salvation takes place which decides the fate of our soul.

Download: The problem of our character