It's Unbelief

Hebrews 3:18-19   And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient?  So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.
From the moment we are born, our sin nature is right there with us. We are born with it because we are born in Adam.  It would be easy to blame Eve, too for the grief caused us, but the names don't really matter here.  It could have been me and Tommy and the results would have been the same. Sinful me. Sinful you. Sinful mankind.
Right from birth, we start piling on the sin, stacking it up like there's no tomorrow.  We are aware of it, but just not sure what to do with it and it grows daily at a rapid pace. It doesn't take long before we recognize the sins attached to us and we try to hide our ugly labels - slanderer, liar, hater, judge, murderer, adulterer, abuser, homosexual, blasphemer - all the while trying to look as normal as the next guy. The problem is, the next guy is doing the same, so who and what does normal look like really?
Everyone is just trying to be accepted for who they are, but only we ourselves know the blackness beneath the surface.  What we fail to remember is that everyone holds this blackness inside.
We can cover up pretty good when we wear the right clothes, put on the right make-up, listen to the coolest music and hang with the in-crowd. "There now," (we tell ourselves) "I can make it through this day."  We were not made to just make it through each day, we are to be more than conquerors every day...overcomers and champions.  
Except...all of this 'wretchedness' is attached to us. We are unable in and of ourselves to be rid of it. Often we fall into the 'easily fallen into' trap of comparison.  "Next to so-and-so, I look pretty good." Well, guess what?  So-and-so is saying the same thing about you.
God warned Samuel as he tried to choose a king for His people -
1 Samuel 16:7  But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." 
We see ourselves as better than the ones we have decided do not have God's favor.  There are those who fall into the category of the hell bound.  We read it in black and white and quietly seal their fates without even telling them about the love of Christ.  We sentence them without batting an eye.  We point fingers and turn our heads away because it feels holy at the time to reject.  Shame on us.
At the core of all sin is unbelief.  Sins are just hidden by the clothing we wear while trying our best to look our best.  The problem is, before a holy God it is impossible to hide anything.  He is the only One able to judge the heart and the intent of the heart.
So I challenge us all to put down our judgment pounding gavels and open our hearts and mouths to speak of God's great love for His people.  There are no innocents here; we have all been marred and scarred by our own decisions to rebel against God.  The only hope we have is the grace given by Him as we repent and believe.  Unbelief is the root.  After that it blooms into all manner of evil. Thank the Lord there is an Answer to all of it.
Christians must drop their precious guards and reach out to others. If we want to put someone's hand into the hand of God, we are going to have to get close enough to do it.

Just reach for the heart.

2 Corinthians 10:11-13  Let such a person understand that what we say by letter when absent, we do when present. Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding. But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to you.