An older comedian Flip Wilson’s famous line was … “the Devil
made me do it”. Always used in satirical
presentations and for humorous effect, his audience understood the
message. There are times when people
take actions in the real world, that they blame on influence that comes from
the supernatural world – both for positive and negative results. Killers have sometimes claimed possession for
their actions. Healers sometimes say
they “feel” the power moving through them.
There are documented cases of exorcisms that the Catholic church has
done over the years, though skepticism by the mainstream masses remains
high. To admit there is a Devil, is to
acknowledge there is a God. Mediums have
long claimed to have ‘spirits’ inhabit their physical bodies. Is this what Lucas may be referring to in his
fictional tales? Could he be trying to
define an outside-of-body force that somewhat controls our destiny?
On a very profound level even the plan of Salvation we have
discussed in this blog seems to indicate you have no real control over your
life. You have but to choose your master
– either evil or good – either Satan or Christ.
Once your choice is made, your destiny seems to be laid out in front of
you. Your biggest worry even then,
merely changing your mind about who you choose to serve. When you choose Christ, you seem to be
yielding up control to Him. In order to
effect real change in your behavior He must have the ability to change how you
think. To impact your basic desires,
likes and dislikes, becomes a prerequisite to meaningful change in your
character. When you yield your
decisions, your thinking, and even your likes and dislikes to Christ, He makes
real progress transforming your character.
The core of who you are is molded into His image. This is part of the gift He offers you, and
quite necessary if you are to escape the bondage of sin, and get past the
addictions you suffer from.
When you do not choose Christ, you make a default decision
to choose evil. There is but one escape
from evil, that is to choose the protection of Christ. A non-choice then, is a toleration of the
conditions you find yourself in – a denial that evil is in charge of your life
– and therefore a tacit acceptance of evil as your current master. Non believers do not accept this premise. As always they believe there are no outside
influences in life that you must choose between. And frankly evil wishes for this myth to
continue. Were the true nature of evil
to be put in the spotlight, no-one would consciously choose it. The biggest myth put forward to the human
race has always been one of self-reliance and self-destiny. But the truth remains, as evil remains in the
world – you have only to look around you and you can find it everywhere. If man (un-influenced by any external evil
force) were truly in control of his own thinking and choices, why would evil
continue to remain in the world?
And once under the influence of evil, is it ever really
possible to make right choices? Knowing
the truth and turning away from it, or perhaps denying the truth altogether –
what basis is that for performing good actions, making good decisions, or ever
serving others? While there may not be
an all powerful kinetic invisible force that controls our lives and destinies,
the truth of the influence of evil is unmistakable.
Look at it another way.
Would Ted Bundy, or Jeffrey Dalhmer ever have made the series of
decisions and actions they made without any evil influence in the world? It is easy to dismiss them as crazy but think
about the depravity of what they did.
The level of pain they inflicted on others in a one-on-one setting;
killing sometimes without guns but with sharp instruments; torture – this kind
of sickness is beyond the scope of most ‘normal’ people. To actually take another human life is traumatic
enough, but to systemically or randomly continue this action is pure evil. This is the sort of behavior that defines
evil. Do we truly believe these men were
free of outside influence?
One characteristic of evil is the nature of its
insatiability. It is never satisfied,
always hungry. While good dwells on
emotions like contentment, fulfillment, meaning, and service – evil dwells on
greed, hunger, excess, and a preoccupation with self. Lest you believe only murder defines the
influence of evil, look at Enron. Greed
in the cases of corporate fraud of recent years seems to have no limit as
well. No matter how many millions these
executives had, no matter how many homes, or cars, or goods – the quest for
more could not be stopped. The lives
they crushed along the way were mere collateral damage. After all, it is war to make money, all is
fair in war, right?
Lest you think an outside force could not control your
physical being, you need only to read the stories of the demoniacs in the
Bible. They were ‘compelled’ to take
actions no one could understand. Unseen
influences can interact with the real world.
So could George Lucas be on to something here, even if only by
accident? The biggest problem with his
vision of the Force is its lack of character.
In his movies, the Force is painted as fairly benign, with good or evil
capabilities. He puts control in the
hands of the human (or intelligent being), to decide which avenue of the Force
to explore. He does talk about the
domination of one’s destiny, but seems to have the small choices waiver back
and forth from good to evil (at least in the character of the main
hero/villain). Is this the story of us?
Do we treat the outside influences of the universe, beyond
our sight, as something to be trifled with?
Do we make God or Satan mere playthings to explore when we have
interest? I hope not. While I do not believe in a singular all
powerful invisible Force, I do believe in 2 beings of powerful natures. One being is my creator God, who sacrificed
Himself to save me from the other unseen being, the father of all evil. While I may be unable to defeat evil, my
creator is more than capable. I
willingly choose to follow my God. I
gladly accept the gift He offers. I
rejoice in the fact that He saved me, from myself, from evil, from death itself. In His plan for my salvation, I take great
comfort. While I may find some momentary
entertainment value in watching a Star Wars saga movie, I am also cognizant of
the constant attacks and ever looming presence of a truly Dark Force – and I am
comforted that my God, has already defeated it for me.
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