But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Romans 3: 21 – 26; ESV

Why would a pastor of a church, who preaches to Word of God with its integrity and power to the best of his ability, ever desire to write such an article that invites the reader to not only investigate, but to embrace their “dark side”? That is a very dangerous and slippery slope to be on and some might think that the pastor is playing with a fire which someone will burn. Is this pastor willing to accept the fallout from such an article? Yes I am.

And my reasoning for such an article is NOT to cause you to live in that dark side, but to keep you from falling into its evil grasp. It is my hope to open your eyes to the fact that EVERYONE of us are capable of producing great evil; that because of our nature, even those who are “good” are not only capable, but do commit evil in the sight of God. Please not the emphases on the words in the sight of God. Because of our human nature, we are prone to think and act in our sinful nature; justifying our actions and giving reasons that our behaviors are right. But if we compare our reasoning with God’s, we find ourselves to be very sinful.

If we are truly honest with ourselves, we will see that we are sinful. Our thoughts are not always pure, our desires are not always good for us, and our goal are often selfish rather than selfless. We can lie, cheat, steal, think evil against others, wish ill on those who disagree with us, battle those who seek our help because “they put themselves in the place where they are; let them get themselves out of it” mentality, judge others by appearances more than who they are, and refuse to forgive when they “sin” against us.

I invite you, the reader to embrace your “dark side” because by doing so, we can admit that we are not only capable of sin; we do commit sin. And by accepting this, we can begin to heal through the power of Jesus Christ. If I might share an example: a person who exhibits symptoms of an illness which could eventually kill them, and yet convinces themselves they are feeling “ok”, only denies the fact that they are dying. Others can witness the death come over the person, they can see the effects it has on their life, and they cannot do anything about it because the person refuses to admit they need help. In our spiritual walks, it is the same thing. We might think ourselves as “good people” who do much more good than bad, and we convince ourselves that this is good enough. This is wrong.

As the Scriptures above share, ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God. However, through Jesus Christ, we can find redemption, grace and forgiveness. Just like a sick person needs to admit they are not feeling well to begin to seek out help for what ills them; man must admit they are sinners: that they have a dark side which needs to be addressed. The Scribes and Pharisees believed themselves to be “righteous” before God, yet Jesus pointed out their sin and arrogance. And because of this, they sought out ways to kill Jesus and to continue in their sinful ways. They “justified” their actions before man; however, their rational wouldn’t hold up to righteousness of God.

If everyone who reads this article begins to embrace their dark side; meaning that they admit they have one, they can then learn how to turn away from it. Like a man who travels about thinking they know where they are going but are honestly lost in their way, the only way they can surely get to their desired destination is to stop, look for the right directions and FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS as to where to go. In our spiritual journey, those directions come from God’s Word, the leading of the Holy Spirit, and the faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. It is then when we can see the need for God’s wisdom and not our own foolishness.

Friends, embrace your dark side. See the effect it has on your life. Turn away from it and enter the Light of Life. See how much brighter your life will be and how to find real contentment in your life. Finally, use your dark side to remind you of the growth you have made since entering that light of Jesus Christ.

Father God,

Help us to see the real darkness within us that we may desire Your light. We seek to be found in You more than in the darkness of this world. May we behold ourselves in You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.