What is it that makes someone abduct women as sex slaves, drain their blood and drink it? What dark forces inspire a man to defile a two-year old girl? What’s the motivation behind an entire nation suddenly turning against one another in unprecedented hatred, hacking each other to death and burning each others’ property? Is there more to it than the clinical terms of xenophobia, psychosis, perversion…genocide?

This sinister aspect of our being has been mulled over and theorised in as many ways as there are thinkers – we are all familiar with the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story, along with countless other movies and stories based on the theory of multiple personality disorder; all of which boil down to one thing…our nature is made up of two basic moral sectors - the good and the bad.

And doesn’t life just seem to be one endless dilemma between these binary forces of our moral constitution?
I got musing over this recently as I watched The fellowship of the Ring for the umpteenth time. Just like the movie depicts, we battle the same dilemma every day of our lives - the challenge of doing what’s ‘right’ in the eyes of God. We want to do good, but end up doing quite the opposite, and when we do, our conscience condemns us… “Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak…” (Mark 14:38)  Jesus’ own words, not mine.

Why is the pilgrim’s walk such a constant daily battle? They say that we brought it upon ourselves when we first sinned…Eden; that’s where it all began…

According to my Bible commentary, Adam's sin as depicted in Gen. 3:1-6 consisted in his yielding to the assaults of temptation and eating the forbidden fruit. So he ate a fruit; big deal! But this action alone constituted: (1) the sin of unbelief, virtually making God a liar; and (2) the guilt of disobedience to a positive command. By this sin he became an apostate from God, a rebel in arms against his Creator. He lost the favour of God and communion with him; his whole nature became depraved, and he incurred the penalty due for this transgression.

Thus our heritage of sin was birthed: once pure, we became corrupted, and the plot only gets thicker as the consequences of man’s disobedience are enshrined in a punitive precedent that is handed down mankind’s lineage as our heritage…sin. So man’s initial Godly nature is corrupted by sin which takes over the purity that was the creator’s initial objective (Gen. 1: 26 “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…”) Thus this original sin set the precedent for our nature.

Quite a pessimistic state of affairs, this ‘natural tendency’ of ours, but then it’s important to know that the constant battle against our nature is actually the cameo part of a larger conflict between the forces of hell and Heaven:

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places…” Ephesians 6:12

Clearly, it is Lucifer, who by his desire for honour and supremacy, first opened the door to sin, and following his fall, he sought to avenge heaven for his dethronement. Part of his comprehensive agenda included turning creation against the creator and he continues pursuing the same even today; employing fraud and temptation to advance his sinister agenda; his artistry and sophistry permeates every aspect of our daily walk, constantly drawing us toward the dark side.

All that said, my greatest question is why God, He the creator of perfection allowed sin to exist in the first place! I wont say that I have the answer to that, but one thing I know is that even though we disappointed Him by transgressing His simple directive, He was merciful enough to offer His grace (grace being unmerited favour!) and set in motion the greatest plan of redemption; an intricate plot of atonement involving the sacrifice of His only son Jesus so that we who believe and receive Him in our souls may be redeemed from the curse of our nature.

“…in a graceless soul, one that is not born again, there is disorder, confusion, and every evil work: it is empty of all good, for it is without God; it  is dark, it  is darkness itself: this is our condition by nature, till Almighty grace works a change in us…”

As one writer so articulately says it;

“…The grace that Christ implants in the soul creates the enmity against Satan. Without this converting grace and renewing power, man would continue being the captive of Satan, a servant ever ready to do his bidding. But the new principle in the soul creates conflict where hitherto there had been peace. The power which Christ imparts enables man to resist the tyrant and the usurper. Whoever is seen to abhor sin instead of loving it, whoever resists and conquers those passions that have held sway within, displays the operation of a principle wholly from above…”

As I daily battle my natural tendencies, it is quite comforting for me to know that in a world ruled by dark forces beyond my comprehension; forces constantly trying to force me toward my Adamic tendencies …..I can take courage in knowing that I have the power in me to control my nature for “greater is He that is in me that he that is in the world ….”

So, I dare say that we are not alone, my friend; as we journey through this life, as we find ourselves in the middle of a battle bigger than our ourselves, we can take comfort in the fact  that we are on the winning side. Thus daily invoking God’s grace and the enabling power of prayer and constantly walking in the spirit, we trudge on little by little gaining ground as we draw closer to the ultimate prize…

About The Author: Isaac Nasong'o is a "creative artist, inveterate journaler, voracious reader and an introverted bohemian with a keen eye on life and all its attendant twists."

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