I had a co worker ask me the other day about my statement on this blog that I've lost faith in humanity. It took him by surprise because I seem like a cheerful person, and that sounds like such a sad thing to say. So I feel like maybe clarifying, expounding, philosophizing a bit, if you will... to explain why I would say that I've lost faith in humanity.
There are basically two general opinions of the human condition out there. That human beings are basically good though we make some mistakes and that human beings are basically corrupt, though we do some good. The yin and the yang so to speak. I've even heard that this is the basic premise that divides our political parties. I'm no politician, so I can't say for sure.
The Christian worldview (which is my worldview, if you haven't picked that up yet) is that humans were made to be good, but we got this idea in our head that we could do things better our own way and went into rebellion against God. Since that time, we hold the memory of goodness, but no matter how hard we try, our best acts have a bend. I only have my own head to live in, so I can't say what goes on in yours with any authority, but in mine I find that my motives aren't often what I would like to believe they are. There's a saying that there are two reasons a person does anything - the real one, and the one he likes to believe.
I used to think I wasn't very selfish. Maybe a little, but certainly not very. Then I got married, and my husband hadn't gotten the memo that the world was supposed to revolve around me, my needs, and my emotional inclination of that particular day, and I found out, oh... I'm a little more selfish than I thought. And then.... I had kids. Two beautiful, precious, wonderful babies that could care less about my need for sleep, quiet time, order, sanity, etc etc, and I discovered.... wow. I'm actually very selfish.
My nursing career has been the outspoken child for the emperor's new clothes of my self perceived goodness. I thought I was fairly empathetic and compassionate. Enter unkempt, inconsiderate, dishonest, addicted, sometimes ridiculous clientele of the world, and oh. I can actually be pretty cold, cynical and judgmental.
So, losing faith in humanity for me is a striping of unrealistic expectations. I don't expect me or the people around me to meet a certain standard, because well - we can't. But it's also a bit of a paradox. Because as I've said, I haven't lost faith in the God who has promised to heal humanity. And if God is in the process of healing us; restoring our goodness by His own Sacrifice of love... then I'm very hopeful indeed. Because that means that the most broken of people has hope. And as a broken person, I find that very reassuring.
There are basically two general opinions of the human condition out there. That human beings are basically good though we make some mistakes and that human beings are basically corrupt, though we do some good. The yin and the yang so to speak. I've even heard that this is the basic premise that divides our political parties. I'm no politician, so I can't say for sure.
The Christian worldview (which is my worldview, if you haven't picked that up yet) is that humans were made to be good, but we got this idea in our head that we could do things better our own way and went into rebellion against God. Since that time, we hold the memory of goodness, but no matter how hard we try, our best acts have a bend. I only have my own head to live in, so I can't say what goes on in yours with any authority, but in mine I find that my motives aren't often what I would like to believe they are. There's a saying that there are two reasons a person does anything - the real one, and the one he likes to believe.
I used to think I wasn't very selfish. Maybe a little, but certainly not very. Then I got married, and my husband hadn't gotten the memo that the world was supposed to revolve around me, my needs, and my emotional inclination of that particular day, and I found out, oh... I'm a little more selfish than I thought. And then.... I had kids. Two beautiful, precious, wonderful babies that could care less about my need for sleep, quiet time, order, sanity, etc etc, and I discovered.... wow. I'm actually very selfish.
My nursing career has been the outspoken child for the emperor's new clothes of my self perceived goodness. I thought I was fairly empathetic and compassionate. Enter unkempt, inconsiderate, dishonest, addicted, sometimes ridiculous clientele of the world, and oh. I can actually be pretty cold, cynical and judgmental.
So, losing faith in humanity for me is a striping of unrealistic expectations. I don't expect me or the people around me to meet a certain standard, because well - we can't. But it's also a bit of a paradox. Because as I've said, I haven't lost faith in the God who has promised to heal humanity. And if God is in the process of healing us; restoring our goodness by His own Sacrifice of love... then I'm very hopeful indeed. Because that means that the most broken of people has hope. And as a broken person, I find that very reassuring.
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