My eight-year-old said, “I remember before I was a Christian and I wasn’t wicked.”
I had just been reading him Psalm 36’s description of the wicked. I said that all of us were wicked before God saved us. But my son disagreed. “I wasn’t wicked,” he said.
The thing is–I remember him back then. It wasn’t that long ago. And on many occasions, ‘wicked’ was the best word to describe him. Especially, based on the checklist from Psalm 36:
- The words of his mouth are trouble and deceipt…
- ..he has ceased to act wisely and do good.
- He plots trouble while on his bed…
- He sets himself in a way that is not good.
Yes, ‘wicked’ was a fitting word for the old version of my son. And for the old version of me, too, even though I don’t remember being wicked either.
The tricky part about being wicked is that you can’t see that you are! Psalm 36:2 says, “For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.” It’s completely natural that my son doesn’t remember being wicked. He didn’t know that he was!
Have you ‘found out’ about any sin in your heart lately? Have you hated your sin? If so, rejoice! This is God’s grace in your life. If you were still among the wicked, you wouldn’t be able to see it.