The Christian and his demons

I love rings – always have. I love other weird things as well. Someone once said to me, why do you like rings, and in my mind, I was thinking ‘why do you like trousers that seem scared of the floor?’ It seems hard for some people to grasp the notion of personal preference. That’s why some do not like mangoes, others love sky diving, some have dogs as pet and some love dogs better in stew! I can bet my life some are appalled at the notion of eating dogs, as they chew on a poor chicken’s thigh – while the vegetarian looks at everyone else who eats meat in disdain, while they uproot a poor onion. 

Someone even said harvested plants could be heard shrieking if you were ‘sensitive’ enough. Well, that is certainly not a spiritual gift I’d like to have.

So, this female pastor once said to me ‘what if your ring was forged under the sea and has marine spirits attached to it?’ – and then I realised:

It’s very difficult to have a conversation with a person who asks you ludicrous questions.

Apparently, the portion of the bible where Paul says you don’t need to ask the origin of everything you buy must have escaped her – and what if her blouse was forged right next to the marine factory that made my ring? The bottom line is there is persistent talk of the devil and demons and evil spirits and what they can do, how they can catch you, bite you, smite you, wound you, ingest you and even fart on your ice cream sundae! And beware, you are told, of the demon’s fart for it causes a mad toothache!

Ok, I’m kidding but you get my drift.

However, when you decide to actually talk about demons from a scriptural perspective and you start to quash the silly arguments and myths, people ALWAYS resort to STORIES. Stories abound of a ‘certain’ pastor who had a dream, or a friend’s wife baby’s uncle who had a ‘revelation’ – and the balderdash just never ends! The solution prescribed for demonic problems is generally the blood of Jesus, and energetic prayer.

Sadly, the truth is that energetic prayer only builds physical stamina if the spirit isn’t right – and the ‘covering’ of the blood of Jesus, as seen in scripture, is a position from right living IN GOD, not a spiritual gel to be topically applied on cars, and journey routes or ailments. Yeah, people love to chant ‘but they overcame by the blood of the Lamb’…but the verse CONTINUES with ‘and they loved not their life unto DEATH’. (Revelations 12:11)The covering of the blood is for those who are sold out and are ready to DIE instead of compromise their faith.

Still think you’re covered?  

My sister was privileged to be in a service where everyone was told to ‘drink the blood’ and people started gulping in massive unseen litres of Jesus’ blood.  Another dude talked about ‘basin blood of Jesus’ – apparently, a cup would not suffice. But the weirdness never ends. I attended a prayer meeting where the facilitator had us put our hands on light sockets. I am embarrassed to say that I was at a point in my life where I wasn’t old enough and strong enough to say to an authority figure that they were not making any sense, so I put my hands on the light switch and ‘spoke in tongues’.

Hey, don’t give me that look; it was someone else who had the circuit breaker covered! 

In another scenario, villagers in a part of Nigeria were given a treat when students in one of the local parishes were told to squat, stool down, kneel down, take several painful positions, including running around with wooden benches on their heads – while speaking in tongues. Apparently, that was the prayer leader’s version of ‘effectual fervent prayer’.  The funny part is that for some, the more stupid and abnormal the command, the more ‘potent’ they think it is and the more gusto is put into the silly act. Indeed people are destroyed ‘for lack of knowledge’

One of the things that got me thinking was the fact that in the bible, you do not see a lot of references to demons by Jesus himself or even Paul. In the King James Version, the word ‘demon’ does not appear at all. ‘Devils’ and ‘unclean spirits’ appear and they were promptly cast out of people with minimal drama. Jesus talked briefly about demons going back to inhabit a person who opened up to them.

However, there have been numerous books about spiritual warfare and the seven steps to gain victory over Satan, how to kick the devil out of your finance, how to catch demons that affect your atm card…and many other such things. The bottom line is this: Any remedy can be sold to the desperate man. It is the same with teachings on demons and Satan that talk about the power and then prescribe antidotes that are often measured out by the ‘man of God’.

The fact is that the greatest warfare is in the mind, and the biggest battle is over the soul – and that is why Bill Gates would not be binding demons ‘that affect his finances’ because binding demons, many times, is the crutch of the lazy man. The warfare, as seen in scripture, talks about casting down imaginations (mental states), and high things that come against KNOWING GOD. You see, the solution for every problem is to finding God in a real, personal relationship. Jesus said, I am the vine, ye are the branches…and without me, ye can do NOTHING.

So what is the conclusion of the matter? Simple. Fear God AND keep his commandments.

Cheers