Scripture: Genesis 6:5
The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, generic and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.

Thought for the Day: At the time Genesis was being written (which was probably sometime around 550 BCE, buy cialis after the Persian conquest of Babylon), I am sure the world looked like a very evil place. Jerusalem was the center of conflict between several warring nations who wanted to control the valuable trade center. The native Jewish inhabitants of Jerusalem were constantly betrayed and lied to by the superpowers of their time, making it easy for them to believe the only inclination of the human heart was evil.

The world around us is a huge influence on our lives and the way we perceive both others and ourselves. Today, the television, radio, and Internet all broadcast hugely influential messages, many of them harmful to our self-image, many of them playing to our evil, rather than our altruistic inclinations. Commercials urge us to spend money and tell us how to look, how to dress, and what we can fix about ourselves if society deems our look or our attitude “inappropriate.” Constantly reminding us we’re imperfect and need to be “fixed” is a subtle form of evil, but it is evil nonetheless.

Prayer: I am made in the image of God: perfect, selfless, caring. You are made in the image of God: perfect, selfless, caring. May we all honor God by recognizing the good in each other, rather than succumbing to the evil society would artificially place in our hearts. Amen.