A Small Problem

Matthew 7:12; Romans 7:15-20

Robert M Watkins

September 23, 2007

I was heartened this week by a story coming out of the University of Georgia this week. We hear so much that is bad about college students that it is refreshing to hear about them doing well.

It seems that two young men were awakened in the middle of night by a knock on their college apartment door. They opened it to find a young woman in obvious distress. They did not know her and had never seen her before, but they let her in to discover that she had been assaulted and abandoned and was now stranded in Athens. The young men called the authorities and then went above and beyond expectation by taking her to a hotel, getting her a room, and making sure she had a ride home the next day. They did all the right things, exemplifying the best of human responsibility.

The immediate question for all of us is what we would have done if faced with the same situation. Would we have simply turned away, not wanting to get involved? Or would we have responded with compassion and helped the young woman?

As we consider our answer, ponder this--The New York Times ran a story in this week’s Science section on human beings’ predilection for doing the right thing, the author, who is a psychologist, arguing that his research indicates we are genetically wired to do the right thing. He has done exhaustive research in this area and discovered that we are actually wired to act morally. He explains this trait through our evolution from herd animals into sentient beings. At the instinctual level, we are still herd animals, and our instinct is to preserve the herd. Our mind has taken those instincts and raised them to the level of morality--things like the Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12) are simply sentient definitions of how to keep the herd intact.

Hmm.

So, the young men at UGA were simply acting on instinct.

Unfortunately, there is also much strong evidence within the world that nothing of the sort is at play. If we are wired to be moral, then why is the world in such a state of complete disorder as we find it at any given moment? War, oppression, and greed seem to be running unchecked in every corner of the earth. Our poor deluded scientist in the paper seems hopelessly out of tune with the evidence all around him.

But is he?

The Apostle Paul makes one think. He speaks for all of us in this pitiable cry from his letter to the Romans. We know what the right thing to do is, but we have a devilishly hard time actually doing it. Too often we find ourselves saying, doing, and thinking things we have no business saying, thinking, or doing.

Have you ever been in a conversation when suddenly you realize you need to erase the very words flowing straight out of your mouth? I watched a young person drive to cross country practice out in the South Carolina boonies. He has been taught to drive by an accredited teacher or a thoughtful parent in the rules of the road (or he would have no insurance and no license), yet he made a pass on the Savannah River Bridge, for crying out loud! And it is not only young folks--adults fall every day. Think about the internet for a moment--you can get access to anything, meaning anything, anytime, anywhere there is a connection. Many an adult finds himself or herself scanning sites they have no business scanning, and it’s all free, at least to begin with. It is simply too easy to do so.

And still the scientist argues that we are hard wired to do right. How?

Something I have encountered over and over again in my pastoral work is the deep connection between physical and soulful ailments. More than a few times I have been speaking with someone who is complaining that their back is out of whack, that it hurts all the time from morning to night. As we talk, it becomes apparent that not only does their back hurt, but they are carrying the weight and the burden of guilt for things they know were not right, but did anyway. It is hard work to carry the weight of the world on one’s shoulders. It will break you down.

If we are hard wired to do the right thing, but don’t; no wonder we sometimes don’t feel so good. We are acting against our very nature. In Genesis, we discover that human beings are made in the image of God. In the Gospel of John, we discover that God is love. Therefore, we discover that we carry within us the imprint of love as God defines it. To act against that, we are acting against the love of God. No wonder we sometimes ache in our very souls.

Now consider something else. Think back to a time when you did something really nice for someone else. It felt good, right? I imagine those young men who helped the young woman in distress met the next day feeling pretty good about things. They had done the right thing. That feels good. The good news is that we do not even have to do something as profoundly Good Samaritan as they did to gain that release. Simply opening the door for someone struggling with arms’ loads of stuff can bring a sudden sense of warmth. I know it sounds ridiculous and perhaps even trite, but it is also true. Doing well makes us feel better.

Now, of course, good acts do not in and of themselves cure us of our ills. I have no reason to suspect that the young men were not ordinary college kids and may very well have been engaged in silliness of collegiate life the next night. Someone may open a door for someone else at the coffee shop then sit down with their computer to engage in a little illegal stock trading. We are who we are.

But there is hope.

If we are indeed wired to do the right thing, then there is hope. God is within us. God is with us. We have help, strength, and redemption beyond our own fragile wills. We can actually make the attempt to do the right thing. Beyond that, we can actually know that what is wrong within us can be overcome and we can be freed from those burdens of guilt we all carry.

Both Paul and the psychologist are right.

That is the good news of Jesus Christ.

Amen.