are we evil?

Reading james 4 this morning... verse 8 says "Come close to the one true God, and He will draw close to you. Wash your hands; you have dirtied them in sin. Cleanse your heart, because your mind is split down the middle, your love for God on one side and selfish pursuits on the other." I don't know about you, but that it me about as subtlely as a punch in the gut. You may not be guilty of this, but I'm guilty as sin, as they say. Pun intended. My heart is often divided between God and the world, what Scripture says and what society says. So...what do we do? Where do we go from here? Good news and bad news. The Good News is that the answer is clear. It happens to be in the following verse! The bad news is...it's hard. But back to the good, "9 Now is the time to lament, to grieve, and to cry. Dissolve your laughter into sobbing and exchange your joy for depression. 10 Lay yourself bare, facedown to the ground in humility before The Lord..." So when is the last time you got some carpet fibers in your nose...and your weren't in yoga class?!? Seriously, have you ever, in all your life, prayed prostrate..face down, dirt in your nose, puddle in the floor when you are finished? It.Is.Powerful. It can be life-changing...because it is a direct link to how we see ourselves. If I am honest, I'm not always as humble and reverent before The Lord as I should be. Verse 15 says, "It would be best to say, 'If it is the Lord's will and we live long enough, we hope to do this project or pursue that dream.' 16 But your current speech indicates an arrogance that does not acknowledge the One who controls the universe, and this kind of big talking is the epitome of evil." Evil? EVIL. Dang. Evil...that's like the devil. He's evil. Demons are evil. Murderers are evil. Evil. I cannot get over that, y'all. I don't know about you, but I do NOT want to be in the same category as Bin Laden or some other crackpot we've labeled as evil. But that's what It says, y'all. Right there in black and white..."epitome of evil." Could be similar to Bush's "axis of evil". Either way, I ain't wanting no part (yes I am aware of the grammatical incorrectness of that but will leave it for emphasis' sake) of the evil label. So let's refer back to our instruction, our remedy, our prescription for change...verses 9 and 10. The last part of verse 10 says "...and He will lift your head so you can stand tall." I've been on my face already this morning. I will do again and again until my "current speech" doesn't "indicate an arrogance that does not acknowledge the One who controls the universe" every second of every day. So that, through God, I can "stand tall." xoxo Cortney