Insight for Today
A Daily Devotional by Pastor Chuck Swindoll

It’s helpful to remember that the deadliest killer of humanity is not heart disease or cancer … it’s depravity. Every one of us has it. Every one of us suffers from the consequences of it. And to make matters even worse, we pass it on to each new generation.  

One of the most sweeping, broad-brush statements in all of Scripture on the depravity of humanity is found in Genesis:

Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5 NASB 1995)

Are you as gripped as I am when I read three words in that verse? Look at them again: “every,” “only,” and “continually.” The scene described in this verse is an inescapable, universal cesspool in the inner person of all humanity—a hidden source of pollution that lies at the root of wrong. Even from childhood this is true.

A number of years ago the Minnesota Crime Commission released this statement:

Every baby starts life as a little savage. He is completely selfish and self-centered. He wants what he wants when he wants it—his bottle, his mother’s attention, his playmates’ toy, his uncle’s watch. Deny him these once, and he seethes with rage and aggressiveness, which would be murderous were he not so helpless. He is, in fact, dirty. He has no morals, no knowledge, no skills. This means that all children—not just certain children—are born delinquent. If permitted to continue in the self-centered world of his infancy, given free rein to his impulsive actions to satisfy his wants, every child would grow up a criminal—a thief, a killer, or a rapist.

Now that’s reality. If it’s your tendency as a positive thinker to ignore it, it still won’t go away. If it’s your tendency as a parent to ignore it, that root of depravity will come back to haunt you in your home. A permissive, think-only-about-the-bright-side-of-life philosophy will be eaten alive by problems of depravity as your child grows up without restraints and without controls. Face it, the dark side is here to stay.