Thursday, May 08, 2008

We All are Monsters

Along with the rest of the world, I was horrified by the story of the Father who locked his daughter and kids (grandkids?) in a basement for over 24 years. 24 years is a long time.

I have been waiting to hear something of his explanation of his life. Today, CNN has an article in which a little of his thinking can be seen.

The article says that they are allowing him to watch television coverage of his case (which seems unbelievable to me but I'll resist further comment). With obvious displeasure, he said, "I'm only being portrayed as a monster and not as someone who committed monstrous acts."

As a Christian, we must think deeply about this statement. Notice how this guy views himself and wants others to view him: Not as a monster but as a person who acted like a monster. This view is hauntingly common today.

A person who commits a sin is acceptable. However, a sinner is not acceptable. It is one thing to sin; it is quite another thing to be a sinner.

We are not good people who sometimes sin. We are depraved sinners who act according to our nature. The reason we do monstrous things is because we are monsters. The reason we sin is because we are sinners. There is a fundamental problem with us, our nature is corrupted.

The only hope for Josef Fritzl is to acknowledge that he is a monster, repent of his monstrous acts, and embrace Christ as his only and all-sufficient Savior and Lord.

2 comments:

Ginnie said...

AMEN Justin. The world needs to realize that all of us are sinners who on their own have no hope, but that we can find hope through the grace and mercy of God who has overcome sin. I pray that Josef Fritzl will acknowledge that he is a sinner and come to a saving and life changing knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Anonymous said...

Excellent post on this horrible thing. Interestingly, I saw this video of Paul Washer in contrast to Joel Osteen explaining their ideas on the condition of man.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=b29lMZZ1Ts8