While watching the news, the average person has a tendency to be surprised at the cruelty of mankind.  Some even believe that people are more evil or cruel now than ever before.  Such is not the case if you believe the Bible.  As the book of Ecclesiastes says, there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

Before the nation of Israel was taken into captivity, people from Samaria to Jerusalem were offering their children as burnt sacrifices to other gods to be saved from advancing armies or to receive rain to end famines.  Today people around the world sell their children into the slave trade so the parents can afford to eat.  A multitude today destroy life with abortions, but in the time of the split kingdoms there were kings who violently murdered the pregnant mother with the unborn child (2 Kings 15:16).  And if you are surprised at the cruelty and murders within the family of North Korea’s leader, be appalled but don’t be surprised.  When Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took Jerusalem captive, he slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah king of Jerusalem.  Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah, so the last thing Zedekiah saw was the death of his sons (2 Kings 25:7).

From the beginning to the end, the Bible teaches us that all of mankind has a heart of evil to do what is against the one true God (Genesis 6:5; Romans 3:23).  This inherent evil is a direct result of the sin of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden (1 Corinthians 15:22).  There are some who have been misled by the common ideology that people are inherently good.  As a result, they are surprised when they see the bad things that happen in the world.  But the belief that people are inherently good is opposed to what the Lord and his word, the Bible, has to tell us.  By God’s grace alone we are able to do good.  And by seeking salvation in Christ, we even desire to do good.

We should be appalled at the evil we see.  We should not be surprised.  We should not give up because of the evil we see (Matthew 24:12).  We should, instead, do whatever we can to overcome evil (Romans 12:21).  Pray that the Lord will use you to overcome evil in this world; knowing that those who call on Christ will prevail (John 16:33; Revelation 17:14).  Do not be surprised, but rather take heart in the promises of God, be strong in the face of the evil we see, and continue to do good to overcome the evil surrounding us.