Here is another interesting quote from another fiction book I am reading, in fact a sequel book to the last one I mentioned:

When a farmer seeds his field with corn he knows that the weeds will grow also.  They will grow faster than his crop, the roots digging deep, drawing the nutrients from the land.  Therefore, if he is wise, he patrols his field, uprooting the weeds.  Every human heart is like that farmers field.  Evil lurks there, and a wise man will search out the weeds of evil.  Beware the man who says, 'My heart is pure', for evil is growing within him unchecked. (The Wisdom of the Deacon, Chapter XIV)

This quote is from David Gemmell's Bloodstone, which is a sci-fi fantasy tale, set in a future where the world has experienced a global disaster , which has basically rendered the world a cold and inhospitable place.  The book is not important but I think that this quote interestingly mirrors what the bible teaches us about the human heart and our ability to commit great acts of evil.

I believe in each one of us is the potential to love in amazing ways, to do great acts of kindness and compassion, and an amazing capacity to live in a selfless and sacrificial life - the seeds of love and good live in each of us.  However, by the same token there is also a great potential for evil that lives and resides in each of us.

Sometimes we like to blame our evil on external forces and things we can not control, but the truth is that the capacity or seeds of evil live in each of us, and the whilst we think that we are not capable of doing certain evil acts, given the wrong situations and circumstances, this preconception is easily challenged.

I think ultimately what we live out:  love or evil; is a choice of who we chose to serve and why.  When we chose to serve ourselves and our own agendas we will ultimately cross lines that we know we shouldn't and make decisions that will cause us to live contrary to the values we consider true, just and noble.  When we choose to serve and love with others, although the path is not always easy or simple, we will ultimately make the choices that will mirror that love.

The choice to live for Jesus, is and should ultimately be a choice to love and serve others, it is a choice to not serve the gods of this world and live for just ourselves.  However, in choosing to serve Jesus, we must also be aware that the seeds of evil still live on the inside of us, and therefore we must make sure we plant good seeds and weed up the roots - Jesus tells us his word is good seed!

It is arrogant to think that we are pure and that we do not have to check the attitudes and emotions that build up on the inside of us, an unchecked heart is a place where all kinds of evil can thrive.

Stay Cool!