God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes. Ecclesiastes 7:29 (NIV)
Every time you see the wretched destructive power of evil breaking out in the world, use this verse to cultivate a greater hatred toward sin in your life. Say to yourself, “The root of this thing lies in me!” Use this as an incentive to holiness.
You can also use this verse with someone you know who is not yet a believer.
Every time there is another gun shooting, terrorist attack, or natural disaster, you will probably find yourself talking about it with someone in your office or at school. The conversation usually goes something like this: “What a terrible thing it was! Why did God allow that to happen?” Times like these are opportunities for you to use what we are learning today. “God made man upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes.”
Stop blaming God for what’s wrong with the world. Start confessing that you are far from upright.
This is a sure mark of a genuine Christian. Many people have the idea that a Christian is a person who thinks that he or she is righteous. But precisely the opposite is true. A Christian is a person who knows and confesses that he or she is not upright.
This is radically countercultural. The mood of our age is to claim the first part of this verse for ourselves: “God made mankind upright…” while completely ignoring the second: “…but men have gone in search of many schemes.”
People who think they are upright will never come to Christ. That was the problem with the Pharisees. They felt that they were upright, and their religion reinforced their belief. As long as you feel in your heart that you are upright, you will never come to Christ.
Can you think of a recent time when you could have used this verse in your own life as an incentive for holiness? How about in a conversation?
