Illustration: Evil, Sin

In his message the Sunday after 9/11, John Huffman said, "Accept the fact that life is not easy and that there are wicked people in this world.

"In 1978, M. Scott Peck catapulted onto the American literary scene with his best-selling book The Road Less Traveled. It was labeled a 'new psychology of love, traditional values and spiritual growth.' I'm convinced the key to its success was embodied in the first sentence which simply reads: 'Life is difficult.'

"Accept that fact, and everything else sort of falls into place. We are fallen men and women living in a fallen world. The Psalmist nails it with these words: My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught at the voice of the enemy, at the stares of the wicked; for they bring down suffering upon me and revile me in their anger (Psalms 55:2-3).

"There are wicked people in this world. The psalmist is aware of it as he writes: 'Confuse the wicked, O Lord, confound their speech, for I see violence and strife in the city. Day and night they prowl about on its walls; malice and abuse are within it. Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets' (Psalms 55:9-11).

"Three thousand years later, it's the same thing. We shouldn't be surprised. Life is difficult. There are wicked people in this world. Sometimes the wicked person is someone else. Sometimes I'm the wicked person. More often there's a strange alchemy in which there's a mix of wickedness and goodness in both the other and in me.

"That's why the apostle Paul made it so clear in Romans 3:23 where he wrote: 'for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.' We are all in this boat together!" (Click here to continue reading.)