The Evil Within

Within the heart of everyone There lurks an evil mystery. Undermining good intentions, Spurring on to malefaction. God declares, our hearts are wicked, defiled by sin and selfishness. Yet in our sight we are upright With a modicum of malice. Sinning for the sake of sinning Not just occasional misdeeds, But delight in sin and evil, was Augustine’s apt conclusion. Solzhenitsyn clearly saw it As he lay in Russian gulag. The line between good and evil runs right through every human heart. Even gangster Mickey Cohen thought he was a decent fellow. With no need for transformation, Or God’s gift of soul salvation. Deny not the evil within Treat it as a venomous beast. Plead like Paul for God to free you, Give you grace, to eschew evil.