February 4

Read: Psalms 51:5-10

Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me (Psalms 51:5).

Selfishness Shows Early

Let him who questions the truth of universal inherited sin in the soul consider the selfish behavior of even young children. A child’s natural philosophy of life seems to be, What’s mine is my own, and what’s yours is mine too if I can get my hands on it!

At six years of age our little girl was in vacation Bible school. To help the children develop habits of unselfishness the teachers taught them this song:

If I had a scooter new, I would sometimes share with you. If I had an apple bright, I would let you have a bite.

Gail sang the song happily around home — it seemed to me she sang it fifty times a day! She had no scooter to test her willingness to share; and extra apples could be had for the asking, so they posed no problem. But Gail had a bicycle that she loved dearly and she had a hard time being willing to let her friends take rides on it.

One day I thought I would help the Bible school teachers with their project in Christian education. I said, “Gail, let’s sing the song this way: ‘If I had a bike so new, I would sometimes share with you.” What was a child’s response? Her face clouded, her lips trembled, and tears welled up in her eyes as she sobbed, “No, Daddy. I don’t want to sing the song that way!”

What brought that resistance? It was the sinful spirit of selfishness reflecting itself in even a young child.

Affirmation For Today

I recognize that all men are born in sin. I do now accept God’s provision to create in me a clean heart.