As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

The Pentecostals blame the world's problems on the devil: his demons, his schemes, his power over and possession of people. The Fundamentalists blame the world's problems on "the world" itself: the homosexuals, the abortionists, and all their sneaky agendas including the most innocent of cartoons and Disney movies. The Diehard Calvinists blame the world's problems on our flesh: our total depravity and continual struggle with sin.

A quick look at the opening verses of Ephesians 2 will tell us all three play their part in causing the evil we see around us: The World, The Flesh, and The Devil. They work together equally, each in some way causing or encouraging the other. To focus on one and ignore the others will have its consequences, perhaps the most obvious being the simple inability to fix a nagging problem as a result of trying to fix the wrong thing in the wrong way.

Before we go blaming something on demon possession, we must realize it's simply how a world without knowledge of any alternative will obviously behave, especially when one's sinful flesh is involved.

Before we go blaming something on those darn homosexuals or any other group of sinners we might choose at that moment, we must realize that we are no better and it is only by the grace of God that we are avoiding the path of many others in "the world."

And before we boil everything down to an individual matter of the sinful flesh, we must remember the devil has his schemes and the world has its alluring ways of going about things.

Now, it's admittedly my own bias (even though I like to categorize myself as a Moderate Calvinist rather than a Diehard Calvinist), but I would say "the flesh" is the one most often getting ignored, and the one that needs to be dealt with first and foremost. But if I say that, aren't I ignoring the point I'm trying to make here? I guess so.

I'm pointing out The World, The Flesh, and The Devil to encourage people to take closer notice of the flesh. The devil and the world are scapegoats that are all too easy to use in justifying our own actions, establishing ourselves as innocent and righteous instead of leaving that job up to Christ. It's must easier to point the finger elsewhere than to admit and acknowledge what these first few verses of Ephesians 2 really tell us about ourselves.

And yet, while I encourage people in that train of thought, I probably need to remind myself to look more at the devil and the world. . .