Why Aren’t We Perfect?

Why do we do wrong? Even in early childhood we can be selfish, mean-spirited and spiteful to others; sometimes for no reason other than a spontaneous wish to do harm, like Augustine of Hippo, stealing pears he did not even care to eat. It is as if we are possessed by a demonic spirit for a time. We might invent a Satan to blame it on. The depths of our psyches may be too complex, too murky to delve into for an explanation, but as we mature we learn to recognize a tendency toward wrong behavior and by spiritual practice develop our inner selves to sense and then avoid wrong behavior. It is the tension between wrong and right, between selfish and selfless, between positive and negative, that is our earthly environment, and progress in living is measured by our ability to choose the right. We are aided in our growth by the mercy we receive when we do err.