When their leaders are thrown down from a cliff, the wicked will listen to my words and find them true. — Psalm 141:6
You'd think that might be a Sarah Palin quote, or the Tea Party Platform circa 1000 BC.
Some evil is what we call "natural" evil — earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, etc. (If Bob were writing this he'd throw in Rosie O'Donnell or Helen Thomas, but I don't think I could throw either one of them very far.) Natural disasters are a function of the original satanic rebellion and the subsequent Fall of Man. Other evils originate in the human heart, which is, as Jeremiah said, "deceitful above all things and desperately wicked". Jeremiah adds that it is probably not possible for us to always know, or, perhaps better, to trust our own hearts.
Evil may come from within us, but it may also come from outside us. There is one devil. There are many spiritual entities that are opposed to God, and thus on the devil's side. Not all of our thoughts are our own. Paul speaks of "fiery darts" which the enemy launches at us. These are, primarily, thoughts. I've been told numerous times that the devil or the various members of the demonic hierarchy cannot read my mind. Possibly this is true. Possibly it is not. Shoot, sometimes I can read other people's thoughts. My dog and cats can read my thoughts on occasion. That the devil or his allies know what I am thinking or feeling does not imply that those entities are omniscient — they certainly are not. Either way, though, they have access to fire thoughts at me — thoughts and ideas that look very much like my own.
This is a very real battle. A primary tactic of the adversary is to cause us to think we are not under attack by an outside power. Sort of like Islam — hmmmm. The enemy will tell us that our problem originates within ourselves while the truth is that Christ dealt with the old nature of man on the Cross. We died with Christ, and we have been raised as new creations in Him. Over and over we are assured of this: that our lives are hid with Christ in God. Once you have started on the path with Christ, you are free of the bondage of the adamic self. The demonic allies work to reanimate the zombie-self in us because they can control it. If the enemy can get us to believe that we are still under the control of the flesh, we are hampered and at least partially defeated.
This is a little controversial. Many, if not most, Christians are oppressed by demonic spirits. They get to us. They lie and deceive, and, though we are not "possessed", we are certainly messed up.
I don't like this idea because I am inclined to take responsibility for my own bad behavior, and I am reluctant to blame anyone or anything else. In the end, of course, it is still my decision to do wrong, to say vile things or entertain perverse thoughts, to be angry, unforgiving or bitter. Nevertheless, if I were to know that this angry, violent, lustful, or ugly thought was not really my own, I would better know how to deal with it. The enemy uses these fiery darts very effectively. First, I am hit with a perverse thought, then I am told that there must be something wrong with me. After all, a real Christian would never have such a thing cross his mind.
The worst ones for me were the thoughts of worthlessness. I could battle well enough against most fleshly temptations, as I understood that, wherever they might originate, I needed to resist them. The one that got me was "you are such a disappointment". And it didn't matter to whom I was a disappointment. At one time it was to my parents, at another it was to my wife — even to myself. The thought that I never lived up to my potential could drag me down into the pit of despair where I would wallow in self-pity and, subsequently, self-indulgence because, after all, it no longer mattered.
For many years, I thought I was doing great. What I tended to forget was that I had a brother and sister in Christ who prayed for me every day. Every day. Not some days, not weekends, not Sundays in church. Those two battled on my behalf for the better part of two decades as I sailed along being blessed and prospering. Then one day, my friend fell gravely ill. His wife had to spend nearly every waking moment with him, more or less, watching him gradually deteriorate and die. A couple of weeks before he passed on, I found myself at an absolute low point and in one of the greatest crises of my life. My prayer shield was gone.
I had been coasting and now I was on my own. It took me a long time to figure out what had happened and to realize the great blessing those two had been. I'm sure my friend's widow still prays for me from time to time, but probably not with the same intensity. She is aging and has her own worries these days. I'm sure some people might think my troubles were just a coincidence, but I know better -- now.
If a Christian can be oppressed by the rulers of darkness, what of those who are still outside? How can they expect to be set free to even begin the fight? As a believer, I need to get past merely looking out for myself and start carrying the battle to the enemy on behalf of others.
Those of us who are stirred to seek God are moving into a spiritual realm where we are subject to attack by demonic entities. Those who are locked in the flatlands of materialism or negative religious traditions are more or less owned by demonic entities. Until those "rulers, ... authorities, ... world powers of darkness, ... and spiritual forces of evil" are thrown off a cliff, the unenlightened will remain unenlightened.
And while we're at it, there are some wounded warriors who could use a little help.
9 comments:
Nevertheless, if I were to know that this angry, violent, lustful, or ugly thought was not really my own, I would better know how to deal with it.
One tactic that has helped me, from time to time, is to ask myself when such thoughts come barging in and try to take over, "who or what is served by this?"
If nothing else, it helps to shift my focus from one of despair to one of action and illumination.
Loved the Rosie & Helen line, btw - hilarious mental picture :)
Great post, Mushroom.
As Father Lazarus said:
"I want to know, but forgive me, it is necessary for me to ask it, how conscious are you of your sin? Because, unless you feel some repentance, this cave life will be useless…without meaning. This is a life of penitence. This is the first thing.
And the second thing, you are here to bless the world by prayer. Not by a long list of names. But by being awake in the spirit; by being awake in your soul. This awakeness to the Lord, this is a blessing on the world…in itself.
One hour of prayer, mindful of God, is worth more than a lifetime of beneficent service.
In me all mankind lives. So if I pray, all mankind prays. If I don’t pray, all mankind turns from God. So if you think like this, if you see yourself, as the iconic embodiment of humanity standing before God, you will pray, because you will be terrified not to pray.
You will achieve pardon for yourself, and for others. This is the guarantee of the desert."
From an Orthodox blog:
"Gifted with discernment, the Fathers differentiated stages of the soul's confrontation with temptation: attack, connection, consent, captivity, combat, and passion of the soul.
These blessed men define the attack as the first appearance in the heart of a simple thought or image of an object.
Connection is a conversation with the thought or image, sometimes accompanied by passion.
Consent in the acquiescing of the soul, accompanied by delight at the proposal.
Captivity is a violent and involuntary carrying away of the heart or a permanent attachment to the object in question that destroys the excellent state of the soul.
Combat is a confrontation with the adversary through which the soul, according to the choice of her will, gains victory or undergoes defeat.
The Fathers say that passion, in the proper sense, is an evil that secretly affects the soul for a long time, establishing intimate rapport with her and a habitual disposition, by which she spontaneously tends the soul herself through the affinity of these movements.
The attack is without sin; connection is not always, and the degree of guilt concerning consent depends on the inner state of the combatant. The combat is the occasion that awards a crown or a chastisement."
BTW, thank you for finding and sharing Father Stephen's blog in your sidebar.
Our reader and occasional commenter, Mary, gets the credit for Father Stephen. Those Orthodox guys are all right.
That's a good point, Julie. A lot of the people I used to run around with were very legalistic. They're always ready to condemn somebody for not "shunning the very appearance of evil" -- you know, like refusing to drink a coke from a can, because somebody might mistake it for beer. It's really a fight to get away from crap like that.
Paul speaks of "fiery darts" which the enemy launches at us.
Lately I've been thinking how we willingly open ourselves to direct strikes through music. Pretty much all modern popular music is barbed rather it be rap, country, or Seattle grunge but because it comes wrapped in smooth overtones we crank up the iPod and inject the lethal package right into our skulls. Fortunately there are enough better angels still making music to counteract the onslaught but they're a small minority. Long live Van, Bob, and Leonard though they be long in tooth.
I was thinking something similar last night, Dojo. Flipping through the channels, I came across a lovely sounding tune by Paramore, which nonetheless had about as hopeless a message as one can imagine, that combination of pretty despair so common to most popular music these days, especially as sung by women. Something to do with loneliness and the falseness of love. I guess our country has raised a couple of generations now for whom that seems to be entirely true, thanks to the hookup culture and the delay of marriage until it's time to "settle" and raise a family with whatever poor fool is willing to put up with their hopeless and heartless selves.
They buy the lie because it has a nice tune and they can pine to it.
Love the new icon, btw!
"Other evils originate in the human heart, which is, as Jeremiah said, "deceitful above all things and desperately wicked". Jeremiah adds that it is probably not possible for us to always know, or, perhaps better, to trust our own hearts."
That's why our heart should never be controlling our actions.
Not that good can't be found there, but bein' led around by one's own heart is a recipe for disaster.
Or at least trust but verify which certainly ain't blind.
Not an easy task. Also not easy to seperate guilt from true humility sometimes. Especially after much exposure to legalistic mindsets.
Like you mentioned before, how effective are we?
Of course we can't know the full extent but we do know we ain't effective if we're obsessed with guilt and/or self pity.
I mean, where's our focus?
Balance? Awareness?
Are we in communion? Repentence? Prayer?
Anyway, that often will get my attention at any rate.
Not that it always helps as in "feels good" but at's also not the point either.
Good line about R.O. and H. T. :^)
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