Sunday Thoughts: The Devil Made Me Do It?

Remember the funny Bill Cosby jokes that ended with, "The devil made me do it!"?  Once in a while we need to consider that 1) there is a devil, 2) the devil is evil, 3) the devil wants us to do evil, and 4) the devil can't make us do anything - we need to cooperate. 

If you're Jewish or Christian, you've heard of the devil, or Satan, who tempted Eve in the Garden of Paradise.  Islam and other religions believe in evil entities also.

If you consider yourself an atheist, one who does not believe in the existence of God, you probably don't believe in a devil.  If you actually worship the devil,  -  we'll go there another day.

Could I get something off my chest first?  So many people think that nearly everyone states they are members of a particular religion (whether or not they actually practice that religion is a different matter) because they were brought up that way by their parents.  This assumes that a mature adult has no choice.  I was taught in high school (Catholic, all-girls school) that, to have a mature faith, a person has to question that faith, explore other faiths, and choose the faith they want to practice.  This is a Crisis of Faith.

The summer after high school, my family moved to a distant city.  Our neighborhood was approximately 50% Jewish families.  My family belonged to the nearby Jewish Community Center because they invited our subdivision to join.  I frequently babysat for the Jewish families and came to love them all.  I was attracted to their faith, wanted to go to their synagogue and check it out (my main Jewish mom encouraged me to do so, but I never did).  Yet all the while, I never stopped going to weekly Sunday Mass.  Who is this 'Jesus?'  How could God become a human baby?  Why would He want to suffer and die?  Did He really come back from death to life?  Before I married at age 20, I had resolved this in my mind, and felt the love of Jesus in my heart, and have been committed to my faith ever since.

Back to the devil.  It makes sense to me that 1) a Supreme Being, God, created the universe.  There is no way a bunch of chemicals could float around and eventually result in intelligent beings, we humans.  2) Since God must be a spirit, there probably exists intelligent beings that are also spirits.  We call those beings Angels, and the ones that didn't use their free choice to agree with God, devils.

Once in a while, I'm in a store, looking around, admiring this and that, wanting this and that which are always more than I want to pay.  At times I have been tempted to just pick it up and take it with me without paying - shoplifting!  Then I think, "This is wrong.  It is stupid. It would be sinful!  Devil, get away from me!"

Doing wrong, evil, used to be called "Sin."  I can't recall hearing that word for many, many years!  So many of our contemporaries have shoved the concept of 'sin' under the rug of their collective consciences.  That hasn't made it disappear.

Have you heard of the classic book by C.S. Lewis, "The Screwtape Letters?"  In it, a chief devil sends letters of instruction to his young minion devil, on how to tempt us stupid, weak humans.  The devil (devils) hates God and wants us to join in his eternal misery.  A modern book I very highly recommend (and have read twice!) is "The Snakebite Letters: Devilishly Devious Secrets for Subverting Society As Taught in Tempter's Training School" by Peter Kreeft.  It particularly exposes the devil's strategy in modern America.  This is an inexpensive paper-back, an easy read, less than the price of a fast-food meal for your family.  Get it, read it, and gradually teach it to your children.

Yes, the devil has been high successful, you know it and I know it, in convincing a great many of us that there is no sin.  Also, just because we think something is wrong doesn't mean that everyone else thinks it is wrong; they should be able to think what they want and do what they want to do.  What is this modern evil called: Relativism - anything goes!

Chapter 3 is "Sex and the Media."  There is so much, and increasingly more, filth, I hardly ever watch mainstream TV.  Chapter 4 is "How to Shoot Chastity in the Head," a must especially for teens.  This whole book is a real eye-opener.

One last Sunday thought: we are not without defenses!  If we feel we are being tempted, we can either pray or distract ourselves.  We really want to be the BEST persons we can be, don't we?

Lord God, thank you for nudging me to church this morning, even though I SO could've slept till noon!  It was great hearing your Word, worshiping You, being with my family and friends, singing with all my heart, picking up the church bulletin to see what's coming up, being out in the sunshine, smiling at my exuberant priest, wearing summer clothes, and just chatting with You a while in my heart.  Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!