During World War II the Germans did some incredibly inhuman things to the Jews. Today we see and hear on the news almost daily the things that ISIS soldiers have done to people including burning them alive, putting them in acid, running over them with Cats, and cutting off their heads. Why do people do that to other people? What is there in people that would motivate them to do such things, let alone think of them. Little kids are mean to each other, doing and saying things that are simply intended to hurt another person for no apparent reason other than it brings some kind of morbid satisfaction. Years ago I read the book “Lord of the Flies” as an assignment for a class and in the class discussion the teacher made this statement, “Any person is capable of the worst, most inhuman act given the right set of circumstances”. That statement filled me with incredible fear that I might some day do something very mean and cruel to another person. This condition of the human heart is described in the Bible repeatedly, “the heart of man is desperately wicked, who can understand it”, and is amazingly accurate as we watch in the news the behavior of people. Today someone hacked my Facebook account and responded to some people under the guise of being me in a very crude and profane way.  What kind of person gets pleasure from doing something like that? I think my teacher is right, we all are capable of being mean and cruel, and the pursute of “goodness”, “kindness”, “graciousness”, and “tender-heartedness” is a difficult journey as we battle our own wicked heart.  It is not guaranteed because we must personally choose to pursue it, but as a Christian I now have the power from God to overcome my heart’s bent towards evil, and become more and more like Jesus in holiness. I have been set free from that aweful downward pull.