28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
The coarseness of modern culture isn't new. It's baked into human nature in the absence of a relationship with God. When I saw insolent in the laundry list of worldly traits, I was reminded of the hard-left French party La France Insoumise who insolently rebel against the corporate-friendly globalizing status quo. Tres French but also tres human.
If we take another look at the list, it's not just the left who are in the mix. Ruthless folks across the political spectrum (I'll leave shout-outs to the Peanut Gallery as an homework exercise) and even apolitical folks will look to do unto others before they do unto them.
That's why the Fruit of the Spirit is so counter-cultural; it's not human nature to be loving, peaceful, patient, kind, gentle and self-controlled. The above laundry list (and the lust-laden paragraph that proceeds it) is the default in the absence of God's presence.
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