And the Lord said by his servants the prophets, “Because Manasseh king of Judah has committed these abominations and has done things more evil than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols…” (II Kings 21:10,11 ESV)
Worse
When I was fourteen years old, my father let me back the car out of the garage one Sunday morning. It did not go well. Inexperienced, illogical, and impatient, I went fast when I should have gone slowly, and slow when I should have moved fast. I turned the steering wheel the wrong way, and ended up with a dented fender, a bent garage door frame, a lot of noise, and a lot of shame.
But my dad eventually smiled. He said simply, “… first time for everything. Next time you’ll know more.” It was six months before he let me try again…
People act according to our knowledge level. Teenagers lack driving knowledge, generally. Car mechanics lack human anatomy knowledge. Surgeons lack automotive engineering knowledge. Toddlers do not know how to preach, and preachers do not know how to eat dirt.
King Manasseh was more evil than the Amorites not necessarily because he was more atrocious. But because he knew more. He had God’s Word available. But he still worshiped idols.
It might feel gratifying to watch the news and see non-believers act like non-believers. We shake our heads and our fingers, and utter pronouncements of guilt. And those pronouncements are probably accurate.
But we, like Manasseh, are worse. Because we are selfish, even though we know more. We are greedy, even though we know more. We are impatient, even though we know more. We are unloving, even though we know more.
The fact is, while the Amorites around us might seem worse, we need Jesus more. Because we know more.
We are worse, but Jesus still can redeem, even us.