"Why do bad things happen to good people?" Many cite some iteration of this question as one of the primary obstacles to faith in God. I've asked it in one form or another quite frequently in my own life, if I'm honest, as I assume you have. The most common version for most of us is probably, "Why would God let this happen to me?" In fact, I was venting about what amounts to that exact sentiment just an hour before starting this blog. These sorts of thoughts are likely inevitable for anyone who exists and . . . well, thinks. That isn't to say they're correct, obviously, in their assumptions or implications, but we're all human and we all have a tendency to skew our perceptions of reality in our own favor. "The Human Heart" is a critique of some of the assumptions that underlie this line of thinking.
No gratitude, only a bitter and thankless expectance
The first lines of the song address how easy it is for us to take what we have for granted. In the aforementioned venting session, I was listing all the ways I feel like I've been dealt an unfair hand in my life recently; the things I wish were better, the reasons I'm not happy with the status quo, etc. In reality, there are people all over the world who would probably look at my life, all that I've been blessed with, and think, "Man, if I could have that, I would never complain again!" But we all seem to be inclined to view wherever we currently find ourselves as the base level. All we want is to get just a little higher than where we are right now and we'd be content. Or so we imagine.
"Is that so much to ask?" "Don't I deserve it?" Ungratefulness will leave us bitter and miserable, feeling like we're being treated unfairly at every turn, and in many instances it can cost us the things we do have but take for granted. It becomes especially easy to become bitter toward God, because after all He could solve all of your problems without so much as lifting a finger, so why wouldn't He? Especially if He loves you.
Your rights, the fuel, the excuse to your mindless default to rejection
Worthy just for being alive
Self-absolution by way of existence, inevitably you cry
The idea of rights (at least as we tend to think of them) isn't something that exists outside of the laws, etc. we've contrived to organize our societies and systems. That isn't to say it isn't valuable, but we're wrong if we assume it's simply inherent to reality. In truth, I do believe God has created us all with certain rights, but I think a better way to conceptualize what the term "rights" attempts to describe is to consider each of us as having certain limitations. It's not that I'm owed by society or my fellow man food, water, shelter, or anything else that demands someone else's time and labor. It's simply that none of them are able to rightly deprive me of these things or to take them away from me. It may seem like an inconsequential distinction, but it makes a world of difference in what it entails, philosophically. The idea of there being certain services we're entitled to simply for being born goes hand in hand with the temptation to think of one's self as good by default or to turn a blind eye to one's own debts and failures.
"How could your loving god allow the pain I know so well?
Why should the innocent by made to suffer through this hell?"
The chorus is an attempt to articulate the thoughts of someone questioning God's goodness or authority due to the reality of suffering. I want to stress that I'm not belittling the asking of these sorts of things. Life is difficult and often full of hurt. Many of the Psalms reveal David's struggle to see God's hand when his own world was in turmoil. Still, why doesn't God just eradicate evil and suffering? The most truthful answer I can personally give: I don't know. However, there are a couple of questions related to the idea that I think merit some consideration:
Exactly how much evil should God eliminate? Murder is evil, but deceiving someone else to get something you want is too. Maybe you've never robbed an old woman at gunpoint, but you've probably betrayed the trust of a friend. At the very least, if you're honest with yourself, you know you've had evil thoughts or intentions, however briefly. In the truest sense, there simply are no innocent people. Most of us automatically exclude ourselves, the vices we embrace, or the suffering we cause when bemoaning God's perceived tolerance of evil, but this is irrational.
Could free will (and subsequently love or any kind of meaningful relationship) exist in a world where there was never even the possibility of making any choice besides the right one? I can't presently imagine an existence in which this could be. The two seem, quite obviously, to be mutually exclusive.
Every single one of us, the sole anomaly
Arbitrating the boundaries between
All the blood in the wake of humanity
And what we bury beneath
This section is talking about how our minds very often obscure our vision of our own sins. "Yes, the world is corrupt, but not me." It's easy to attribute supreme importance to the areas in which we happen to excel, while dismissing as trivial those in which we come up short. "I know I'm not perfect, but at least I don't . . . " Very few people recognize just how close most of us really are to those we think of as monsters. Sometimes a simple lack of opportunity is all that separates us from the ones we denounce as despicable.
So hold your hand inside the flame
And when it burns like it always has
One more life by creator betrayed
These lyrics refer to the foolishness of making obviously terrible choices and then blaming God for their unfavorable results. It uses the imagery of consciously putting your hand into a fire. Yes, God made a reality where fire hurts, but holding my own hand in it until it destroys me and then getting mad at God that it happened is stupid.
I wouldn't blame You if You buried us all
I look at myself and the evil in me. I see the darkness and hatred and chaos and cruelty that grips the heart of humanity; how bitter and ungrateful we are and how constantly we turn away from the truth. I am thankful for God's patience and mercy, but I wouldn't blame Him if He just obliterated us altogether.
Would recompense, in justice on this day
Reign down from blackened sky and purge this wicked place
Of the wretched and corrupt 'til none but the innocent remain
Mankind forevermore erased
Again, if God were to deal with evil as some think He should, we'd all be doomed. If He poured out justice so that only the innocent were spared, the human race would just be over.
My right is shame
My legacy, decay
To rot in a shallow grave
A quote by John Edwards says, “You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary.” True story. God hasn't given me what He owes me, and that's something for which I am exceedingly grateful. This is a good thing to call to mind when tempted to complain about how unfair life seems in a given moment. Fair isn't necessarily what we might like to think it is.
How could You ever choose to us such mercy to impart?
How could You love us so when You have seen the human heart?
I cannot grasp God's love for us. I cannot understand His goodness and mercy toward fallen, corrupt man. Thank God He doesn't deal with us as we deserve. Thank God for the blessing of life and the opportunity to seek and to know our Creator. Thank God for the blood of Jesus that washes away sin and makes the darkest of hearts new again.
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