By Jeremy Bell
Psalm 10 and connections to it from Romans 3: 10 – 18, Romans 14: 11 – 12, and Romans 3: 21 – 27a. All scripture is God breathed, written through His uniquely made people. People use it to learn to be people of God. Scripture is NOT people breathed to uniquely create God. Theocentric perspective is simply believing that God reveals, and people understand. It rejects that people understand and reveal to themselves, God.
Natural Selection
The encyclopedia Britannica states, “In natural selection, those variations in the genotype that increase an organism’s chances of survival and procreation are preserved and multiplied from generation to generation at the expense of less advantageous variations.” There is certainly more to it, but from this, people have developed the idea that the strongest survive. Of course, the definition of what is ‘strong’ changes according to environment and other factors. In more brutal and straightforward expressions, people have built lives on self-important principals that it’s a dog-eat-dog kind of world and it’s ‘me or you’. Some go softer with ideas like, I can’t help others until I help myself. Rather than expand on this for endless pages, here are some famous quotes to consider.
Quotes
Anne Frank is quoted, “The weak die out and the strong will survive, and will live on forever”. “Every man must decide for himself whether he shall master his world or be mastered by it.” says James Cash Penney. “When I loved myself enough, I began leaving whatever wasn’t healthy. This meant people, jobs, my own beliefs and habits – anything that kept me small. My judgement called it disloyal. Now I see it as self-loving.” This was said by Kim McMillen.
To help sum this up, Bangambiki Habyarimana states, “The universe runs on the principle that one who can exert the most evil on other creatures runs the show.” Eliot Peper: “There were sharks before there were dinosaurs, and the reason sharks are still in the ocean is that nothing is better at being a shark than a shark.” Buddha: “You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”
Natural selection always begins with the object, the self in this instance. All types of broken morality are justified under a natural selection of self. Consider some relevant passages from Psalm 10, represented from my book, Psalms in Motif Visualization.
Self First, at all Costs
It’s true that following the basic practices produces of natural selection produces a lot of success. A study of human history will provide a lot of evidence to support the idea that a successful and happy long life depends on the self first, then strengthening that self, while making decisions to eliminate the weak. It’s an observable reality and reproduceable. Yet, many fight it. Not just publicly, but internally. There is something deep inside everyone that knows this is not quite right, but without something more specific to refute this, we have only our self made guidelines to direct our actions.
The Bible exists to give something specific to human beings. It is the words of the creator of all things and the creator of all order. Knowing the Bible changes perspective. There is more existence than this life alone. While there may be actions that get a person ahead, or help them survive, in this existence, those actions related to personal drive are completely meaningless in the course of all of time and reality. The ones that matter affect eternity and natural selection becomes irrelevant and obsolete! The Bible says one day every single person will die, but that every person will exist after that death. There will be a judgement as to what kind of existence that is. It will be based on what happens before the first death and God will judge. He designed the conscience to bear witness to His judgement.
Read how Psalm 10, fully this time, addresses the differences between people. Afterwards, read what Paul wrote to put it in more obvious perspective.
[ Psalm 10 ]
Why do you stand far off, Yahweh?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
In arrogance, the wicked hunt down the weak.
They are caught in the schemes that they devise.
For the wicked boasts of his heart’s cravings.
He blesses the greedy and condemns Yahweh.
The wicked, in the pride of his face,
has no room in his thoughts for God.
His ways are prosperous at all times.
He is arrogant, and your laws are far from his sight.
As for all his adversaries, he sneers at them.
He says in his heart, “I shall not be shaken.
For generations I shall have no trouble.”
His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and oppression.
Under his tongue is mischief and iniquity.
He lies in wait near the villages.
From ambushes, he murders the innocent.
His eyes are secretly set against the helpless.
He lurks in secret as a lion in his ambush.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless.
He catches the helpless when he draws him in his net.
The helpless are crushed.
They collapse.
They fall under his strength.
He says in his heart, “God has forgotten.
He hides his face.
He will never see it.”
Arise, Yahweh!
God, lift up your hand!
Don’t forget the helpless.
Why does the wicked person condemn God,
and say in his heart, “God won’t call me into account?”
But you do see trouble and grief.
You consider it to take it into your hand.
You help the victim and the fatherless.
Break the arm of the wicked.
As for the evil man, seek out his wickedness until you find none.
Yahweh is King forever and ever!
The nations will perish out of his land.
Yahweh, you have heard the desire of the humble.
You will prepare their heart.
You will cause your ear to hear,
to judge the fatherless and the oppressed,
that man who is of the earth may terrify no more.
[ Romans 14: 11 – 12 ]
For it is written,
“‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘to me every knee will bow.
Every tongue will confess to God.’”
So then each one of us will give account of himself to God.
[ Romans 3: 21 – 27a ]
But now apart from the law, a righteousness of God has been revealed, being testified by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all those who believe. For there is no distinction, for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God sent to be an atoning sacrifice, through faith in his blood, for a demonstration of his righteousness through the passing over of prior sins, in God’s forbearance; to demonstrate his righteousness at this present time; that he might himself be just, and the justifier of him who has faith in Jesus.
Where then is the boasting? It is excluded.
Shallow Reasoning
If a person lives as if there is no God, and that there will be no judgement, it is a very shallow observation contained within the meaningless and short lifespan of that person. Natural selection only makes sense within this contained system of chance and delusional purpose. A God who is outside of time is never silent or non-existent; this God creates proofs in creation and in conscience for people to turn to Him.
Those who will enjoy eternity with Him in love and compassion turn to Him in weakness. They die to the strength and success of this life for the weakness and rewards of the next life that will overshadow this life by the measure of eternity. People that God judges worthy respond to His messages and don’t turn away. They don’t do the work themselves; they ask for mercy and distribute God’s mercy according to the way He directs. In our current time, God’s specific message is that His mercy is distributed through Jesus.
A Way of Escape
It’s important to remember that the Bible does not hold up any person or people as somehow righteous with specific rules to follow for salvation from eternal death. Strength in natural selection is as pathetic as calling oneself god and is equivalent to evil. It says that every person ever is unrighteous, and no one seeks God. So, we all fall into the wicked category and to differing extents, do what wicked people do. God provided one living being that did not, He provided a Messiah, a Christ, a Savior. This was Jesus, God Himself. This, an escape from wickedness.
God sees and hears the weak and He sees and hears the wicked. The weak, He will save, an antithesis to natural selection. The helpless simply cry to Him for mercy in their weakness, and God has answered with Jesus. The weak are healed by His blood, His touch, His robe of righteousness. There is no other name by which a person can be saved from eternal separation from love and goodness. Being the strong who survive in this life thinking it will translate to the next are temporary joy experiencers. Those who confess their weakness and die to themselves in this life, in the name of Jesus, will live forever in the next. Walking with love and goodness and dancing with the Nature of Joy forever.
Resources and Notes
All scripture in this article is from the WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE (WEB). The World English Bible (WEB) is a Public Domain (no copyright) Modern English translation of the Holy Bible. The World English Bible is based on the American Standard Version of the Holy Bible first published in 1901, the Biblia Hebraica Stutgartensa Old Testament, and the Greek Majority Text New Testament.
For more related to this blog, check out my post on Unity in the Bible Truths About God.
This is a reliable translation, but it is always good to read other translations as well. Biblegateway.com has a multitude of translations to read from. It is a great resource.
Another great resource is Biblehub.com. There are multiple translations, commentaries, and so much more. Great research can be done on this platform.
One more I use regularly is Gotquestions.org. This is a great site to answer questions and find threads of related questions.
There are many resources. The key is that God wants relationship directly with you, the individual. His primary source for revealing who He is and growing in intimacy is His word, the scriptures. Don’t just read for instruction. Analyze and read for understanding. Explore, ask questions, and be transformed in Jesus every moment you possibly can. There is no dispute this is a key desire of God. People are brough to the Father, in the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit. This… This is the Nature of Joy.
Jeremy is an author, musician, and business intelligence manager. His mission is to equip and encourage those in Christ, to equip and encourage others in Christ. Jesus, Christ, is the Nature of Joy and melody of the heart. Jeremy unites business analytics (business intelligence), songs, and Scripture for Christian living in the power of the Holy Spirit.