Deception, Demons, and Details

"Get away from that wheelbarrow, James Louis! You know you don't know nothin' 'bout ma-CHIN-ery!" -- Brother Dave Gardner

The coming of the lawless one is based on Satan’s working, with all kinds of false miracles, signs, and wonders, and with every unrighteous deception among those who are perishing. They perish because they did not accept the love of truth in order to be saved. For this reason, God sends a strong delusion so that they will believe what is false, so that all will be condemned – those who did not believe the truth but enjoyed unrighteousness. – 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12

I think I can handle too much. My most common error in life is the failure to see every battle as a spiritual battle, from the most trivial to the most profound. Let me see if I explain well enough not to sound like a complete flake.

The other day my straight-shaft Stihl Pro trimmer didn’t want to run. This thing is the Mercedes-Benz of trimmers. It has run for years. I was in a hurry and trying to get stuff cleaned up (when am I not in a hurry?), and it just quit. My very first inclination was to grab the end and smash it against a corner post. I do not like things that thwart my will, especially inanimate objects that are supposed to make my life easier.

For once, perhaps because of the influence of the coonosphere: QP, Ben, Julie, Robin, Rick, River, Walt, et al, it dawned on me that this was a spiritual battle. I wasn’t dealing with a demon-possessed trimmer, but a demon-oppressed thought process. I put the machine aside and picked up the pathetic little Ryobi to get as much done as I could. Of course, it picked just that moment for the throttle cable to stick. With no third string trimmer (forgive me, for I have punned), I took a deep breath and, through gritted teeth, explained to my wife that I had no choice except to fix the Ryobi. I sat down and opened the housing, got things loosened up, then correctly reattached and re-assembled. An hour or so later, I had it going again.

When I had time, I went back to the Stihl and pondered its behavior for a few minutes. I decided it was the plug and started looking for a socket to fit it. All the ones I have are either the wrong size or not deep enough. I could feel the frustration rising so I set it down and stepped back again. It actually made me smile because I realized that I was hunting for something I didn’t need. Like chainsaws, the Stihl come with its own specialty combination tool. It changes the plug as well as fitting the nut for the brush-cutter head, and had a star-driver head at the other end – everything you need in one place. I got the plug out. There was a tiny round bit of something closing the gap – no possibility of a good spark. Once I cleared that out, the Stihl started up with a couple of pulls and has been running just fine.

Were it not for Christ, I would be a sucker for the lawless one. He isn’t (necessarily) a politician. I know the lawless one very well. He will tell me that every minor inconvenience is a catastrophe. He insists that a mechanical failure is a malicious act. He doesn’t even mind if I think it is a demon that’s taken over the device. He might go so far as to encourage such thinking. He lives by the false and the deceptive. He enjoys bouts of foolish, pointless rage and acts of destruction. I am ashamed to admit some of the things he has told me that I have accepted and acted upon.

I’m not worried too much about the antichrists on the outside. The one that troubles me is the one that doesn’t even have to whisper in my ear to make his subtle voice heard.