Dharius Daniels - Naughty By Nature

Genesis 37, beginning at verse twenty-nine, the text says, «When Reuben"—somebody say «Reuben.» Say it again: «Reuben.» When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. He went back to his brothers and said, «The boy isn’t here; where can I turn now?» Then they got Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat, and dipped the robe in blood. They took the ornate robe back to their father and said, «We found this; examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.» He recognized it and said, «It’s my son’s robe; some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.» Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. «No,» he said, «I will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave.» So his father wept for him. Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard. This is the reading of God’s Word. I want us to think around this thought. I want you to say it with me—don’t say it to anyone, but say it for someone. Repeat after me: «Say neighbor.» Let’s say it again: «Say neighbor, we are naughty by nature.» I want you to clap your hands if you’re ready to receive God’s Word. I want to talk about that naughty-naughty by nature family. The particular passage that we just had the opportunity to rehearse today is one that I believe articulates the essence of this series of sermons called «Bloodlines.» Everyone say «Bloodlines.» The heart of this series can really be captured in the following phrase: there are traits, tendencies, and trends that we all possess that were not acquired arbitrarily, but inherited generationally. Did you hear what I just said? There are some traits, tendencies, and trends that we didn’t just acquire arbitrarily; we inherited them generationally. They were passed through the bloodline; they were passed either through DNA. These are tendencies and proclivities and leanings that were passed through instruction, where we were taught patterns of thinking and practices in the area of our behavior, or they were passed through exposure, which means there were some things that were taught and there were other things that were caught. Did you hear what I just said? In other words, it is impossible to occupy a room that is filled with smoke and not come out smoky. Whether we are aware of this or not, there are many of us who are in this space today who were raised in smoky rooms, and we may not be as smoky as everyone else in the room, but you can’t be in a room that has been infiltrated by smoke and come out of that room and not smell like it. The danger is if the room you occupy has been inundated and infiltrated with smoke, sometimes you don’t know you smell like it until you get outside of that space and get exposed to something different. What are you saying, Pastor Darius? I am saying that all of us, whether we are aware of it or not, have been impacted by what we inherit. Paul says this in the book of Romans, chapter 5, verse 19. He puts it this way: «By one man’s disobedience, many were made sinners.» That one man there is Adam, the first human. But then he says, «Also by another man’s obedience, many were made righteous.» Paul makes this statement to a group of people who are trying to get a grip on grace. They become Christians, but they have yet to fully understand that their newfound religion is grounded in a concept called grace, where God gives you what you do not deserve. So they are religious, but they are operating with a works consciousness, where they believe that their behavior towards God makes them acceptable. They feel like their relationship is based on their works, and they’re trying to wrap their heads around this concept called grace, where God is articulating to them, «I accept you not because of what you did, but because of what Jesus did.» He’s trying to get them to see that you don’t do works to make you righteous; you do works as an expression of your righteousness. You don’t live righteously to become righteous, but you live out of the revelation of who you are now that you are a follower of Jesus Christ. He makes this statement, though, that I think is pertinent to what I’m preaching about. He says, «Family, by one man’s disobedience, many became sinners.» In other words, he’s saying that because we’re all a part of Adam’s family, we inherited imperfection from Adam. To be human, as we understand it, is to possess imperfections. It is one of the distinguishing marks between God and us: God is the ultimate expression and epitome of perfection, and to be human is to not be God, which means I am, and we are, operating within a realm of imperfection. In other words, we have to teach our children to tie their shoes and ride their bikes, but we don’t have to teach them how to lie. We have to teach them to say «thank you,» and we have to teach them to say «bless you.» We have to teach them to say «excuse me,» but we do not have to teach them how to say «no.» Why? Because they are, and we are, all naughty by nature.