This is what God says is true, every human “heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked” (Jer. 17:9, KJV). And the evidence reveals that the Bible is the most reliable ancient book humanity has on hand. In turn, this is humanity’s biggest problem. While it’s not what we want to hear, much less believe, it’s not until we admit this truth about ourselves that we can begin walking in the freedom Jesus purchased for us on the Cross. As He says “The truth will set you free” (John 8:32, NIV). While we all think we’re a good person at heart, God says we’re the furthest thing from that. So on this post I’m going through some of the primary ways I’m aware of which prove that every human heart is deceitful and desperately wicked.
World History. The history of the world reveals that every heart is deceitful and desperately wicked since it’s been a history of war, corruption, greed, and all sorts of suffering inflicted on humans by other humans. While there have actually been a few societies which haven’t participated in war, there’s not one which hasn’t involved deception. I know that without a doubt because humans start lying almost as soon as we can speak. It’s not as if we have to teach toddlers how to do it! Rather, we have to teach them not to lie, besides correcting other bad tendencies.
Crime. Violent or not, all crime reveals that every human heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. While some people are deceived enough to say I’ve never sinned, anyone who’s the least bit aware of themselves knows that they’re not good all the time. So while most of us haven’t been convicted of a crime, it’s not likely that there’s ever been anyone who hasn’t committed quite a few crimes during their lives. Michael Howard wrote this comment online which I think sums it up, “They’ve probably broken the speed limit. They’ve probably jaywalked at least once in their life. Most people have done things like this. So no, by default I wouldn’t assume that anybody has ‘never’ technically committed a crime.”
Helping me understand His perspective, since God is working it all out for His purposes (Eph. 1:11), shortly after I became “born again” (John 3:3, NIV) in 1988 I watched a documentary where they interviewed men in prison who had committed brutally violent crimes. And each one of them, at some point in their interview, said “I’m a really good person at heart.” WHAT?! They’d brutalized other human beings and thought they were decent?
It’s how we all think.
For example, ask people if they think they’ll go to heaven when they die and there are a set of responses you’ll hear: they don’t have a clue, they think they’ll go to heaven because they’re Catholic or because they go to church, or because they’re a good enough person. But according to the Bible, not one of those answers make you right with God. In fact, being Catholic or going to church are definitely not getting you into heaven since institutional Christianity (Catholic and Protestant) is a satanic system, as I summed up on this table. And if anyone was actually good, Jesus wouldn’t have needed to go to the Cross, and history wouldn’t be what it’s been. Neither would the world be the hell hole we’ve created. Yet it’s as journalist Chris Hedges summed up “We now live in a [world] where doctors destroy health, lawyers destroy justice, universities destroy knowledge, the press destroys information, religion destroys morals, and banks destroy the economy.” These things don’t happen on their own. There are people behind the scenes making them happen. People with a heart just like ours, “deceitful above all things and desperately wicked” (Jer. 17:9, KJV).
Christian History. Nothing reveals the truth that the human heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked as well as Christian history. I’ve already covered it with my first blog post so I’ll just put up this graphic here summing it up.
Compare the New Testament, which Christians say they believe, to what Christians are actually doing and it totally doesn’t line up. While Christians should be hitting the bullseye, as a group we’re not even hitting the target!
And God views us as a group which He calls “the body of Christ” (1 Cor. 12:27, KJV). While He also views us as individuals, He has called us to function as a group saying things like “If one part [of the body] suffers, every part suffers with it” (1 Cor. 12:26, NIV). It’s the pagan sayings It takes a village to raise a child or United we stand, divided we fall. That’s how the body of Christ works with the difference being that “Christ is the head” (Eph.5:23, KJV) of the group, the body, and that’s because He’s the One with the brains having created all things (Col. 1:16).
The Stanford Prison Experiment. This classic experiment conducted in 1971 also reveals that every human heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. The professor tossed a coin choosing “prisoners” and “guards” from a regular group of college students and he had to shut down the experiment before the week’s end because the “guards” were behaving like dictators by the second day and a “prisoner” was having a nervous breakdown deceived by his own heart that it was real! Even the professor had lost sight of what he was doing snapping out of it only because his colleague saw it and SLAMMED him! They made it into a decent movie.
Little White Lies. The fact that we even have this term for our lies reveals the deceitful and wicked nature of the human heart. Jesus, who is the truth personified (John 14:6, KJV) has informed us that “the devil…is a liar, and father of lies” (John 8:44, NIV). Every time we tell a lie, no matter how supposedly white, we are honoring the most evil being in the universe. And there’s not one of us who doesn’t tell at least one of them every single day! You don’t think so? How about all those compliments you give people when you don’t even mean it. “Oh, I love your outfit!” when you’re thinking ‘How could she wear that!’
Advertising. We’re so deceitful that many careers are BASED on lying.
Racism. The fact that people have signs saying Black Lives Matter also reveals our wicked hearts because, Helloooo? All lives matter. And we’re all racist at heart. The sooner you admit it, the better off you’ll be since Scripture and historical evidence reveal that Jesus, the Son of God, was what we call Black as revealed in Revelation 4:3.
And you can be Black and racist. Married to a Black man I’ve received plenty of racist comments coming from Blacks targeted at Whites, again because of the condition of the human heart (Jer. 17:9).
My Life Testimony. My life (and likely yours) reveals that every human heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked because of how Christians behaved when I wanted to become a Christian, leading me AWAY from Christ rather than to Him, and because of how they’ve behaved for the past 24 years, chasing me away rather than acknowledging the truth, that I’m a born again follower of Christ, even though it’s obvious.
While God has had me spend 24 years exposing the lies, everyone has refused to listen even when I’ve spelled out the consequences for them, for my family (including several suicide attempts (not mine), and for the world (Matt. 24:21, KJV). Because, it’s just as God says “the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked” (Jer. 17:9, KJV). In fact, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light” (John 3:19, NIV). Why? Again, because “the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked” (Jer. 17:9, KJV). Christians are out of control as 4Him sings on this song.
This list revealing how deceitful and wicked we humans are could obviously go on endlessly. So the rest of that passage says “Who can know it” (Jer. 17:9, KJV), as in who can understand the deceitful ways of the human heart since WE MAKE NO SENSE! It’s like our pride overrides our common sense. Rather than being willing to be proved wrong, we lie to ourselves, we lie to others, we lie about others, and we lie to God to appear to be in the right. Even born again Christian adults behave like immature kids!
God Requires Holiness. God says “Be holy, because I am holy” (1 Pet. 1:16, NIV). Holiness begins by becoming “born again” (John 3:3, KJV) and continues as we become a faithful follower of Christ which we do by earnestly seeking Him daily (Heb. 11:6) so as to be able to take our thoughts captive to Christ (2 Cor. 10:5). It’s like we have to lasso each and every one of them down and only set them loose if they actually line up with Christ’s teachings.
That’s what we need to do because no matter how ‘nice’ we are, when it comes to God we are ALL “deceitful above all things and desperately wicked” (Jer. 17:9, KJV). That’s God’s point and the reason He’s allowed all of the suffering in this world. We can’t appreciate what He’s done for us through Christ UNTIL we admit why He had to do it, that our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9). Left to ourselves we will always create hell on earth.
Praying we learn to walk in the truth since that gives our Father the greatest joy (3 John 1:4). And it does because it honors Him and works out best for us.
