On Page 4 of Richard Foster’s “Celebration of Discipline,” he offers some wise insight into the inner workings of engrained sin our lives. That it is just natural. That left to or own, we will stir and kick up dirt and mire, and expunge it out into the world. Why? Because those are the kinds of things that are inside a person by nature of being a person. In a sense, it can’t be helped. Like the sea, so are we. That is, apart from the battle that rages once we become a Christian. At that point there is more than just your inner dirt maker. You have the divine Spirit of God. This is about what is, not what should be or how to get there. Simply what you are, apart from divine grace.
“Isaiah 57:20 says, ‘The wicked are like the tossing sea; for it cannot rest, and its waters toss up mire and dirt.’ The sea does not need to do anything special to produce mire and dirt; that is the result of its natural motions. This is also true of us when we are under the condition of sin The natural motions of our lives produce mire and dirt. Sin is part of the internal structure of our lives. No special effort is needed to produce it. No wonder we feel trapped.”
