“Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood*.” –Genesis 8:21
*This should be translated “from youth.” Only the NIV has “from childhood” and they don’t seem to have any good reason why. In the end, this verse doesn’t aim to show when humans start to have a sinful nature. Its point is simply to show that humans have a sinful nature.
What is the nature of your children? Are they naturally innocent, pure, and good? Or are they naturally bent towards sin, evil, and disobedience? Your belief about this will influence the way you parent. Either you will encourage or discourage your child’s natural behavior.
In the beginning, humans were nothing but good. Adam and Eve were made in the very image of God. But something happened that changed human nature: Adam and Eve disobeyed God. Because of this, sin became an instinct for every human that has ever lived. You can see this in the early stories of Genesis: Cain kills Abel, Lamech threatens excessive revenge, the sons of God marry any of the daughters of men that they choose... Genesis 6:5 goes as far as to say that “every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” In fact, human nature changed so dramatically that God was grieved that he made us and he flooded the entire earth to wipe us out. Wow! What a profound change sin made on human nature!
In the beginning, humans were nothing but good. Adam and Eve were made in the very image of God. But something happened that changed human nature: Adam and Eve disobeyed God. Because of this, sin became an instinct for every human that has ever lived. You can see this in the early stories of Genesis: Cain kills Abel, Lamech threatens excessive revenge, the sons of God marry any of the daughters of men that they choose... Genesis 6:5 goes as far as to say that “every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” In fact, human nature changed so dramatically that God was grieved that he made us and he flooded the entire earth to wipe us out. Wow! What a profound change sin made on human nature!
So what is our nature now? Do we still possess the image of God or are we still naturally bent on evil? Strangely enough, Genesis says, “yes” to both. The Bible is clear that humans still possess the image of God, even after Adam and Eve’s disobedience (5:3) and the flood (9:6). But humans also still have a natural love for evil. When God promised to never flood the earth again, he gave no indication that it was because human nature had gotten better. Instead, he matter-of-factly stated, “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood” (8:21). Notice that the wording here is purposely similar to Genesis 6:5. God is telling us that nothing has changed about human nature since before the flood. The very nature of our hearts is evil.
The same is true for your children. They still resemble the image of God and they still have worth, but we need to remember that our children are naturally bent towards sin, evil, and disobedience.
Help God disciple your children. Show them how to turn away from evil and to the good. Pray for them. Discipline them. Model what it means to put to death the sinful nature and live out the new nature. Tell them the wonderful news of the gospel – that God sent Jesus to take the punishment they deserved. Without direction, your children will naturally destruct. Only by God’s grace and power can they become who God meant them to be.
Help God disciple your children. Show them how to turn away from evil and to the good. Pray for them. Discipline them. Model what it means to put to death the sinful nature and live out the new nature. Tell them the wonderful news of the gospel – that God sent Jesus to take the punishment they deserved. Without direction, your children will naturally destruct. Only by God’s grace and power can they become who God meant them to be.
By God’s grace,
Pastor Stephen
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