The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent -agent- during the 2007-2008 League.
*shouting* "NO NO NO!!! That's my red truck!" "Come on now Timmy you need to share." "No! That's my toy and I want to play with it." And with that Timmy snatched the truck out of Phil's hands and runs away to protect his treasure.
The Merriam Webster online dictionary defines nature as: "the inherent character or basic constitution of a person or thing." Man is also defined as: "the human race: the totality of human beings." So the nature of man can be established as the character of the human race.
Genesis 8:21 "The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: "Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done." We all sin and God knows this. The nature of man is to look out for number one. "Every inclination of his heart is evil."
Proverbs 22:15 "Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him." Psalms 14:1-3 "The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there is any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. " The nature of man is a selfish dirty thing, however when we turn away from ourselves and our own desires and open up to God and His word, things begin to change. The temporary pleasures of this world, the wickedness and debauchery is no longer our main focus.
Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? "Genesis 6:5 "The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. " When we take our eyes off you and focus on God, our lives change drastically. Even if we're just looking out for another person it's better than simply living for ourselves.
Now we have all acted like Timmy. We live in an instantaneous society that is told to look out for yourself and no one else. That is not acceptable. The nature of man is wicked true. However when even one person takes their eyes off themselves and begins to do the right thing, the world begins to change.
Another aspect of human nature is we are a very reactive species. All I have to do is smile at you and you'll either smile or frown back. When you treat others with kindness they will react. It will make an impact on someone's life. So let us stand firm against the influences of human nature. Do something positive for someone else. Jesus Christ gave his life for me, and for you. How then can we sit back and say it is not our place to treat someone else kindly? I won't give my life for you and I'll tell you that to your face if you ask me, but I will try to help you however I can. God hasn't asked us to die for our neighbor. He simply gave us the golden rule. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
