LESSON 1 – THE ELEMENTS OF HUMAN NATURE
In order to grow in our relationships we need to know God and we need to know ourselves. We need to understand what a human being is. This will help us do away with the “old self” and put on the “new self” God has made us. In order to “put off the old self” as Paul says in Ephesians 4:22-24 we need to know the old self. In order to know that we need to understand the basic elements of a human being. Then we can think about the “old” version of each element, as well as the “new” version.
The elements of human nature can be grouped into these categories:
- Body
- Mind
- Emotions
- Memories
- Will
- Spirit
- Conscience
Other people use different groupings for the elements of human nature but this list works well. Each element is connected with every other element and affects every other element. For example, if our mind constantly dwells on negative thoughts it will damage our health and weaken our spirit.
It is helpful to go through this list when you are trying to understand what is going on with yourself or others. For example, when you are trying to change a habit or help someone else change a habit this list helps you to remember to address each element of your nature. Or when you are wondering if your life in Christ is unbalanced you can go through the list and check if you are underdeveloped in some area. If you think there is something blocking your relationship with God then go through each element and ask God (or a friend) to show you anything that might be blocking. (Don’t forget that neglecting your body can affect your spirit and your relationships.)
This list helps you know what someone you are connecting with might need. If someone you know is hurting you can ask them how they are doing in each area in order to pinpoint how you can connect with them and help them. For example, you may ask (in the order of the seven elements listed above) “are you tired?”, “how are you feeling?”, “what are you thinking?”, “did that remind you of something?”, “would it help if I encouraged you?”, “can I pray with you?”, or “do you think you did something wrong?” Thus the list is especially helpful to remember when building relationships.
LESSON 2 – TRAITS OF HUMAN NATURE
Since Adam and Eve, when people are born they enter the world with a fallen nature. We still have the image of God in us but it is cracked and distorted. Thus, we often don’t think good, act good, or feel good. Good is whatever brings peace, joy, and love and the source of good is God.
The traits of human nature are listed below. These traits are part of our very nature and cannot be eliminated without God, only reduced. They are part of our structure like hydrogen and oxygen are to water.
Our heart is aware of a standard of good, and our conscience tells us do good, but our fallen nature often triumphs over our conscience. We are so fallen that the conscience is not enough to make people truly good and loving members of healthy communities.
The basic (fallen) traits of human nature are:
- A distorted God-image. Beauty and goodness are cracked.
- All our goodness is permeated with bad.
- We prefer ourselves even when it hurts others.
- We tear down good.
- We see threats and live with anxiety.
- We have an inflated sense of self over others.
- We feel unsafe and without anchor. This makes us defensive and restless.
- We often choose destructiveness instead of good. We don’t choose what is wise, good and healthy.
- We react against good.
- We feel dishonored and we reject ourselves.
- We are relational beings but lack deep relationship.
- Dishonesty and deception. We avoid truth when we don’t like it. We present a false self.
- Truth is unclear to us. We are biased.
These traits keep us from true life in God and so they are painful to us. We avoid experiences that remind us of these conditions or magnify these conditions. And we may strike back at anything that does remind us of these things.
When we become Christians through faith in Christ, God gives us a new nature with new “unfallen” traits. Everyone on earth longs for these traits whether they realize it or not.
Our new nature:
- Has a fully restored God-image
- Is growing in goodness
- Is unselfish
- Constructs good
- Follows God and cooperates with others
- Is beautiful and good so it does not have shame
- Can fully connect with God and others in friendship
- Is honest
- Knows truth which gives life and sets us free
Unfortunately, we still have our old nature and the two natures conflict with each other. The challenge of the Christian life is to live from our new nature. But until our old nature is completely gone we will still struggle against these traits of our old nature. Scriptural, Paul says our old self “has been crucified” but he also teaches us to “put off the old self” (Ephesians 4:22). Thus, we have another example of the “already/not yet” of the New Covenant. Our old self has died but the death is not yet complete.
When it comes to people, it’s important to accept reality and forgive each other’s fallen nature, especially because we want others to accept and forgive our fallen nature. When we are offended it is a test to see if we can turn the tables on sin and forgive. So we can turn offenses from others into an opportunity to reaffirm our friendship with someone.
LESSON 3 – BASIC HUMAN MOTIVES
The combination of having the image of God together with our fallen nature leads to mixed motives. Since we are a mixture, our motives lead to good and bad actions. The motives themselves are legitimate but the way we try to satisfy them often ends up being destructive. The big change in our motives comes when we choose faith in Jesus. Then God actually puts a new nature inside us along with His Holy Spirit, which is our new source for living with godly motives.
The basic human motives can be grouped into the five general categories below. These motives overlap and compete with each other but this list is still a helpful way to remember them. Some examples are included in each category:
Basic Human Motives
- Find physical safety – food, shelter, protection, saving for the future.
- Find pleasure (physical and non-physical) – tasty food, celebrations, sex, substances such as wine, family, friendships, sports and games.
- Avoid pain (physical and non-physical) – we avoid physical danger; we stay away from people or ideas that are unpleasant to us.
- Find valuation – we sense our fallen nature and it makes us feel unvalued so we look for ways to get others or God to value us or to get us to value ourselves. For example, through cooperation, kindness, accomplishments, presenting a false self, manipulation, power, and possessions.
- Avoid devaluation – we stay away from situations where people won’t think much of us.
Knowing these motives will help us understand people better. We can help people and connect with people by knowing what they feel and desire. Then we can provide for them in healthy ways. For example, if someone at work is feeling down because they just made a big mistake, we know they are feeling less valued even if no one is communicating that to them. Thus, what they need is encouragement and a reminder of their value in their workplace. Perhaps you can give them a specific example of how they contribute at work. This will help restore a fair view of themselves. This is being Jesus to them; Jesus constantly treated the downtrodden and rejected of society with value.
Once basic motives are somewhat satisfied then people usually begin to focus on desires such as intimate friendships, supportive community, meaningful occupations, art, deeper reflection on life, and self-expression as well as more satisfaction of basic motives.
Exercise
Think back to the last time a friend did something that didn’t make sense and caused a problem. How did the five motives listed in this chapter influence what they did?
Think back to the last time you did something that didn’t make sense and caused a problem. How did the five motives listed in this chapter influence what you did?
LESSON 4 – HUMAN SINFULNESS
As Christians (those who have received the gospel), when we sin we cloud our relationship with God. Sin can be defined as anything that breaks the “law” of loving God and loving others. Like mud on a window, sin blocks His light in our life and blocks our light from shining out. We do not lose our salvation but we damage our connection with Him. This should make us sad. This obstruction undermines our peace, siphons away our gladness, and leaves us spiritually disoriented.
Since sin is so destructive in our lives it is important to become aware of the darker places in our heart – places where we are more prone to sin. One of the best ways to become more aware of our sin is to read and meditate on scripture. If our heart is open, He will show us our sins.
Committing ourselves to a fellowship of believers also helps expose sin. God regularly uses the lives and words of others to shine a light into our lives. Actually, since Christlikeness in action is mostly about relationships with people, then it is in our relationships that we recognize our sinfulness, as well as our growth in Christ. Someone sitting in a cave for their whole life and praying to God has probably not developed true Christlikeness because that is only developed and demonstrated in human relationships.
Scripture repeatedly teaches us to put off our sin. In order to do this we need to know what our sins are. It is a great gift to see our sins because it shows us where we are still in bondage and allows us to start putting off the sin by His Spirit so we can be free. Here are some common sins:
Common Sins
- It is wrong to put people down.
- It is wrong to push God out of an area of our life so we can do what we want.
- It is wrong to idolize someone or something like a god.
- It is wrong to speak against Jesus
- It is a sin to take what does not belong to us, for example, by deceiving the government on our tax return.
- It is wrong to deceive or lie, such as hiding something from our spouse.
- It is wrong to sleep with someone we are not married to.
- It is wrong to dehumanize people by lusting after their bodies or pictures of their bodies.
- It is wrong to damage ourselves, for example, with alcohol or drugs.
- It is wrong to lie on a job application.
All these actions damage relationships, which is the essence of sin. Remember that there is no condemnation for those are in Christ so don’t beat yourself up about your sin. Rest in His forgiveness and acceptance. Then follow Him and commit yourself to His ways and He will change your life.
Exercise
Ask God to show you any sinfulness He would like you to work on. Wait in silence for at least four minutes; longer is better. If you don’t sense anything then talk to Him about areas of weakness you are aware of, or anything you do that you are not sure is godly. Tell Him what your issue is and why you wonder if you should do something about it. What are the relevant principles?
If you sense something needs to change then ask God what He wants you to do if you don’t already know. Make a plan to make the change in your life. Ask God for help and if possible ask another person to help you.
Scripture
Colossians 3:5 (NASB) Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry.