Good, Beautiful and Kind…Part 2
Speaker: Pastor Pierre Du Plessis
Scripture References: Genesis 3:1-6; Isaiah 14:13-15; Ezekiel 28:12-17; John 8:44
Sermon Recap
Most of us long for a world that is good, beautiful and kind, but the reality of it is hindered by sin. The question is what exactly is sin. Is it a catalyst for what we do? A power that the world is under? Or a combination of both? To answer this question requires that we look back. From the beginning everything found its proper place in God. God made us to be connected to Him and to be rooted in His plans for our lives. This included His plan for Lucifer, who initially, was a beloved angel in heaven until he became intoxicated with pride and decided that he wanted to become like God. God then cast him and one-third of the angels with him down out of heaven, and he became the image of who we now know as Satan. In the form of a serpent, Satan then invoked this same kind of pride in Adam and Eve. He baited them into believing his promise that they could be like God. To be like God would mean that they would have autonomy, be self-ruled, self-governing and independent. But he was a liar and caused them to fall away from God.
Satan is still a liar and uses the same tactics today. His only interest is to trap us to get us where he wants us. His agenda is to bait us with a promise as he taps into some underlying desire or craving within us. He initiates prideful thoughts that we are deserving of more than what we are or what we have. These prideful thoughts give birth to self-elevation, such that self-interest takes precedence over love and service to others. During the fourth century, theologian Augustine coined the phrase “incurvatus” which can be translated as bent, curved, or twisted. Therefore one who experiences “incurvatus in se” is one who is curved inward on himself. That is one who is in pursuit of his own self-interests, falls prey to self-absorptions and strives for dominance over others. To be at the top requires that he diminish and suppress others. So we see that because of the sin of pride, God and man who were once bound in a harmonious relationship have been pulled apart by wicked and evil forces leading to sinful acts. This evil causes us to turn our focus internally, and in the process, we destabilize, undermine and distort goodness, beauty and kindness. To solve this dilemma we need God to transform the human heart. Only then can the good, beautiful and kind be restored.
Discussion Questions:
1. What resonated with you as you listened to this sermon and reviewed it? In your own words, how would you explain the essence of this message?
2. It was said that every temptation has 3 elements: (1) Satan’s agenda, (2) baiting with a promise and (3) is based on some craving awakened in the human soul. Read Genesis 3:1-6 and explain how these elements related to the temptation of Adam and Eve.
3. Considering the elements noted above, share an example of a personal temptation that followed the path of these elements.
4. Pride refers to a sense of self-importance, superiority, or an excessive focus on one’s own abilities or achievements. How then does pride keep us from having a world that is good, beautiful and kind?
5. The Greek word for evil also means wicked or devilish and is closely associated with tearing things apart. How does Satan try to tear us apart from God?
6. The term “incurvatus in se” suggests that one’s focus is curved inward on himself, rather than curved or bent outward. How does the behavior of one curved inward differ from the behavior of one curved outward? Give some specific examples.
7. What are ways we see people in our world today strive for dominance over others as they fall prey to their own self-interests and self-absorption?