Wednesday, October 18, 2017

If I Were the Devil

This article is based on a forum posting of Paul Harvey's piece “If I Were the Devil” below. While a couple of references to the forum and certain members remain, I removed anything that directly links to the forum itself. On to Mr. Harvey:

If I Were the Devil

To the young I would whisper “The Bible is a myth.” I would convince them that “man created God,” instead of the other way around. I would confide that “what is bad is good and what is good is square.”

Has he not done this already? Not only to the young but to anyone who will heed his whispers? However, I think there is a larger concept to consider here.

While most, if not all of what Paul Harvey wrote about in this article (or spoke on the radio, take your pick) has proven accurate. However, Paul was no prophet. He merely looked around at what was already going on around him and extrapolated these things out.

Here is the entire piece – or at least one version of it:

If I were the prince of darkness, I would want to engulf the whole world in darkness.
I’d have a third of its real estate and four-fifths of its population, but I would not be happy until I had seized the ripest apple on the tree — thee.
So, I would set about however necessary to take over the United States.
I’d subvert the churches first, and I would begin with a campaign of whispers.
With the wisdom of a serpent, I would whisper to you as I whispered to Eve: “Do as you please.”
To the young, I would whisper that the Bible is a myth. I would convince the children that man created God instead of the other way around. I’d confide that what’s bad is good and what’s good is square.
And the old, I would teach to pray after me, “Our Father, which are in Washington …”
Then, I’d get organized, I’d educate authors in how to make lurid literature exciting so that anything else would appear dull and uninteresting.
I’d peddle narcotics to whom I could. I’d sell alcohol to ladies and gentlemen of distinction. I’d tranquilize the rest with pills.
If I were the devil, I’d soon have families at war with themselves, churches at war with themselves and nations at war with themselves until each, in its turn, was consumed.
And with promises of higher ratings, I’d have mesmerizing media fanning the flames.
If I were the devil, I would encourage schools to refine young intellect but neglect to discipline emotions. I’d tell teachers to let those students run wil. And before you knew it, you’d have drug-sniffing dogs and metal detectors at every schoolhouse door.
With a decade, I’d have prisons overflowing and judges promoting pornography. Soon, I would evict God from the courthouse and the schoolhouse and them from the houses of Congress.
In his own churches, I would substitute psychology for religion and deify science. I’d lure priests and pastors into misusing boys and girls and church money.
If I were the devil, I’d take from those who have and give to those who wanted until I had killed the incentive of the ambitious.
What’ll you bet I couldn’t get whole states to promote gambling as the way to get rich?
I’d convince the young that marriage is old-fashioned, that swinging is more fun and that what you see on television is the way to be.
And thus, I could undress you in public and lure you into bed with diseases for which there are no cures.
In other words, if I were the devil, I’d just keep right on doing what he’s doing.

There is a list of communist goals published in the Congressional Record of 1963. Chances are you've seen this. From what I can ascertain this list was first published in “The Naked Communist” by Cleon Skousen. I do not know where he got the information from.

[Communist Goals (1963) Congressional Record--Appendix, pp. A34-A35 January 10, 1963

Current Communist Goals EXTENSION OF REMARKS OF HON. A. S. HERLONG, JR. OF FLORIDA IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Thursday, January 10, 1963 .

Mr. HERLONG. Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Patricia Nordman of De Land, Fla., is an ardent and articulate opponent of communism, and until recently published the De Land Courier, which she dedicated to the purpose of alerting the public to the dangers of communism in America.

At Mrs. Nordman's request, I include in the RECORD, under unanimous consent, the following "Current Communist Goals," which she identifies as an excerpt from "The Naked Communist," by Cleon Skousen:

[From "The Naked Communist," by Cleon Skousen]

1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.

2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.

3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament [by] the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.

4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.

5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.

6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.

7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.

8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.

9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.

10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.

11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.)

12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.

13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.

14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.

15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.

16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.

17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks.

18. Gain control of all student newspapers.

19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.

20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policy-making positions.

21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.

22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms."

23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art."

24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press.

25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.

26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy."

27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity, which does not need a "religious crutch."

28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state."

29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.

30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man."

31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.

32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.

33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.

34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.

36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.

37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business.

38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand [or treat].

39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.

40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.

41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.

42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use ["]united force["] to solve economic, political or social problems.

43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.

44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.

45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction [over domestic problems. Give the World Court jurisdiction] over nations and individuals alike. ]

There seems to be some parallel between the two. Did Mr. Harvey use this information as fodder for his work? It's possible. It would be easy to say that it is the communists and their ilk, rather than any “devil” responsible for the advancement of these goals. From my perspective, the devil himself works through such people to accomplish his goals, just as God works through His own. If only everything was so black and white. Most of us, myself included, do things benefiting both God and the devil - good and evil, if you prefer. None of us are all good or, few are all evil. However let's take this one step further...

One of the frequently stated ideas I see is something like “man does not need a superior being to be moral” (before you make accusations based on assumptions, yes, I am thinking about something a forum member wrote and trying to paraphrase it accurately. I believe I have the essence of his statement embodied above.). I find this statement hard to justify on many counts.

First, look at man's record. Any society I've ever known formulates some sort of legal structure. Why? In order to set moral parameters and control others in that society. Laws are invariably accompanied by penalties. Why? Even as said laws are devised, it is inherently understood someone will defy them. Let's face it, if a law has no “teeth” it will largely be ignored. If any society ever existed that did not have some form of legal system, it has already failed.

While I will agree man has a natural capacity for both good and evil, I see no evidence whatsoever suggesting men, left to themselves can be moral individually or in mass.

Second, I must ask, if man is the author of morality – who defines it? You? Me? Do a group of us form a committee? Who decides the composition of such a committee? What about those who disagree with the membership or the decisions they make? Is it then moral for one man, woman or group to tell another human what is and what is not moral? We define “right” and “wrong” it all the time in law but is it MORAL?

Look at the body of Christ. Even with scriptures as a guide we cannot agree on the simplest things – is drinking wine permissible? Even though Jesus, himself, was recorded drinking wine (“No he didn't, some say, that was grape juice!”), indeed his first recorded miracle was turning water into wine, some contend drinking wine is wrong – immoral. I am sure some here can gleefully point out many shortcomings in the body of Christ. However, my point is, if we are correct in our acceptance of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ as being the One True God, how can we not agree on what is moral? Even non-believers point to us as examples because we are supposed to be the “good guys”. We ourselves expect to be held to some higher standard. That said, I certainly do not believe for a moment that either I nor my brothers and sisters in Christ are qualified to define morality.

Who IS qualified to determine what is moral? What if I disagree? What if you disagree? How, then, do we deal with sociopaths who do not recognize morality at all? Without some standard emanating from a source greater than mankind, I see no solution. What about you? From what I can see we are left with some vague concept of good and evil. Who or what determines what is good and what is evil?

If anyone has a better idea I have yet to see it so I'll stick with the concept that there must be a higher authority than man for a moral standard. That said, it would follow such a standard must have an author. What other conclusion is viable except said authority must then be God. Some rail against any god with the question “IF there is a god, then why is the so much evil in the world?” Okay. So lets drop the first part of this question.

Why IS there so much evil in the world?

Evil exists with or without God. You can blame “God” or “religion” all you want but I can tell you this much... while I once considered myself a “good person” before I accepted Christ, I can tell you now, without restraint, I can be every bit as evil as the next person. If anything, the presence of God in my life has kept me from doing much evil. I cannot speak for anyone else, but as for myself, while I really was a “good person” by most worldly standards, I am a better person after I accepted Christ.

The theme “good always overcomes evil” looms large in everything I was ever taught. I am sure I am not alone here, but does it really? If good always overcomes evil then why do we need an ever increasing number of laws? If one were to step back and take a look at our laws vs evildoers, it could well look like a unwinnable game of whack-a-mole. Left to ourselves, mankind certainly appears to be sinking deeper into the pits of depravation (My built-in dictionary did not even recognize this word while Google only begrudgingly admitted it existed). For those who will deny this, I suggest considering any large city. Ask yourself if you would rather be lost on a dark night in a city or in a small town? Why? What to the crime statistics tell you? While I am not a fan of statistics generally, I find it hard to deny that per capita crime tends to increase as the population density increases. Newsflash: the population of the planet is increasing and will likely continue to do so. Thus, crime, one metric of the presence of evil, will likely increase at least proportionately.

One conclusion I can draw from this and other empirical observations is mankind will never overcome evil without a standard of morality higher than ourselves. While this statement may elicit howls of protests from those who do not believe in any god, I've seen nothing to indicate we are capable of eradicating evil or establishing a true moral standard with which will we all abide. While I believe we all fall short of any moral standard to some degree, I also believe we all mostly follow some sort of moral code i.e. as a rule, men are lawful but “everybody cheats” on the speed limit. Are “white lies” not common and considered acceptable in many circumstances? On the other hand, I have experienced countless situations where I have helped or have been helped by total strangers. Despite this, we have yet to find a way to rid ourselves of evil. No matter how many good things we do, no matter how we try to persuade, curb or entice evil to go away, it always returns... with vengeance. Is it any wonder man seeks something greater than himself? Is it any wonder humans have sought out or even invented gods?

So, one might ask, if there is a God, where IS He? Good question. Well, I'd have to say, logically, He would have to be right here. What good is a god who goes off wandering the universe and leaves us? Is god a “set and forget” god? It just doesn't seem right. Nor does it seem right that any god should fail to provide the high moral standard man needs and, deep down, craves. Otherwise, what would be the point? Nor does the idea of some ethereal being that is “just here”, accessible to all who seek it to find it “in our own way” make much, if any, sense. Man is still left without any moral standard and the world seems to be getting worse, not better. Nor does this idea help us with the evil pervading the planet. It would seem then, any god (s) would need to be one of those already identified. Thus we must choose. While you know, I've already made my own choice, I'll still explore some of the thought processes leading me to continue to reject the others.

Overall, I first have to eliminate any group of “gods” from contention – such as those we learned in Greek and Roman mythology. While the idea of other beings other than God existing is perfectly logical to me, the concept of ruling by committee is a guaranteed fail in my book. Anyone who has been involved in or the “victim” of rule by committee – where all members are “equal” are certain to see my point here. Even a cursory glance at human activity reveals a leader always emerges. So why should we expect a gaggle of gods to establish a moral standard?

Next, I'd have to reject the notion that God is unknown, obscure or otherwise “hidden”. What kind of god would that be? Again, what about that one thing we are, at the moment looking to such a god for? A standard of morality higher than ourselves. It does not make sense for any god to hid itself and fail to provide the standard. What would be the point of this?

So we are left with a choice between “major” gods. I won't list all the choices here. Some self-eliminate for me because they adhere to multiple beings. Islam self-eliminates because they claim to recognize Jesus as a prophet and yet choose to ignore his teachings. I contend they cannot have it both ways and maintain credibility. All of this narrows the field considerably. As far as I can see, this leaves us with Judaism, Christianity and the Far East religions. I include the last only because some have been around a long time – something someone else will surely point out and some enjoy significant followings. That said, my stand is these are relatively unknown in the West and therefore not very suitable as a widespread purveyor of a moral standard. It seems to me they would have wider influence if they are a true contender. The same could be said of Judaism. In addition, an important aspect of Judaism is their bloodline – as the entire purpose of Israel was to produce the Messiah. And that leaves Christianity – Judaism after the promised Messiah.

My first thought concerning this is the inevitable question... “So what about the only one God train of thought – how does that reconcile with the Trinity.” I will make two points here. 1) Trinitarian doctrine teaches there is one God, no matter how difficult this concept can be to grasp. 2) Not all Christians believe this doctrine. That said, it appears to be believed by a large majority of Christians. That aside, I do not not believe God rejects anyone based on their belief or disbelief in Trinitarian doctrine and thus I maintain this is an internal issue better left debated within the body of Christ, if at all.

Rather than spend much time to “make a case” for Christianity, I'll leave subject here as it is only my opinion but by the process of elimination I see no better prospect for a one true God. Christianity presents us with a superior being who has laid out a higher moral standard and lays claim to being here from the start. He has made Himself known in many different ways and He has been consistent. Again, I expect many to attempt to dispute the preceding statements but I will say right now that any inconsistencies we can perceive can be credited to a lack of understanding on the part of man. Is it so hard to comprehend that maybe just maybe a higher being is privy to information humans lack? We've all made faulty decisions and/or judgments based incomplete or inaccurate information. How then can we be so sure of our perceptions concerning God? In other words, you don't know what you don't know. However, everything that follows is based on my own conclusion of who this One True God is.

It is rather difficult to consider “the devil” while excluding God. Sure, we can skirt around this by insisting “the devil” is merely a euphemism. As I have no intention nor desire to exclude God, I have no issues with proceeding with the assertion that said devil is also a real being. Again, following the progression of mankind, the presence and spread of evil via the devil's handiwork is well handled in the word God Himself claims as His own. Thus, viewing man's history in light of the influence of evil, it all rather makes sense. However, I will not avoid the one question that is obvious to me: Why?

To paraphrase Rick Blaine “Of all the planets in the Universe, why did you choose ours?” While I won't avoid the question, I do not pretend to have an answer. It is one of the many, many things I do not know. So why bring it up? First of all, to me anyway, it is a much more pointed question than “Why does evil exist?” That question is satisfied (for me) by the revelation of the works of the adversary. It hold no mystery for me – evil exists because the devil rebelled and continues to rebel. He is the source of evil. As for the first question, I can only ascertain that we are not exposed to this evil on a whim. There is a reason for it. Said reason is beyond me but consider this. We humans tend to get angriest at God when our pain is the absolute worse – nearly unbearable. How God must have suffered watching his only begotten Son rejected, beaten literally within an inch of his life and nailed to a tree to die a horrible death. All the while, He knows, KNOWS, this man is the only one who does not deserve any punishment, any pain, who always trusted his Heavenly Father and still trusts Him with his dying breath. I cannot imagine what it is like to watch a child die. My blood boils when I consider those who abuse and torture adults, much less children. The God I hold dear is all-knowing and as such knows, sees and hears all of our pain. He hears all of our cries. Can you, for one moment, imagine or at least consider what it must be like to see, hear, know and possibly even feel the pain of each one of us? This exercise is mind boggling to me. For all I know God literally feels our pain – every bit of it. All I can say is, I could not choose to watch another being endure what men, women and children endure, much less. While one can argue this “proves” God is a sadist at heart, such does not make sense to me. I ask the flip side of the question: if God is evil then why is there good in the world? Why do we not embrace evil? Why not root for it? As for me, it is simply not my nature to take any joy in evil. Isn't the very idea contradictory? “Joy” in evil? I can only conclude that God does, at the very least, endure every painful moment by every human who ever lived or lives. Why He does is beyond my understanding but a lack of understanding does not negate truth.

So why did God banish the devil, according to His Word, His own “second in command? who rebelled against Him to this planet where we are? I do not have an answer for this. At this juncture I can only accept this as one of the many things I simply do not know. Moving beyond this question, I submit that whether you accept any or all of my understanding, reject it completely or even continue to reject my or any god, one fact remains: evil exists. It is not going away anytime soon, if ever, at least by man's efforts. For those of you who reject God, it is rather silly to see you turn around and blame this same God for all that is wrong in the world. Many blame those who believe in God for the ills of the world. This is not to say those who believe in the God and Father of my Lord Jesus the Messiah are blameless, only that the evil things performed by my brothers and sisters in Christ are not done with God's blessing but against His Will. This is an example of yet another deception by the evil one. IF we Christians actually walked in the steps of Jesus who always did His Father's Will, we would be blameless. In this case, not only are Christians deceived but all who view their actions. Unfortunately we Christians are often deceived as easily as anyone else. On the other hand, many who believe false gods have no compunction against committing wrong or evil acts to further their cause. Islam is a perfect example. Their Koran explicitly condones almost any act to attain world domination for Islam.

Coming back to the earlier question of why God would allow the devil to corrupt mankind, while I cannot directly answer this question at this point, I can shed some light on things according to my understanding concerning the how. First of all, scripture tells us Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden. As far as we know they had only one restriction: do not eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Is this fruit a figure of speech or was it literally fruit? We do not know. Were there other restrictions? We are not told. So let us deal with what we can ascertain. Eve was convinced by the devil to do exactly what she was told not to do. She then convinced Adam. Before this, Adam had dominion over the earth. Later scriptures reveal dominion was given to the devil. Is there more to this story? I'd say so but this is what we are given.

I expect the first thing dissenters will do is attack the details. Is this not exactly what the devil did to Eve? Instead, let us focus on the concept. God handed man dominion. Man by his willful disobedience to God, handed said dominion over to an evil third party – the devil. The devil, being evil, has free reign until it is taken back from him. Consider the wording here. Dominion, free reign, is this not the language of rulers? The essence of all of this is who is to rule over us? I contend that if the answer to our dilemma is “man” i. e. there is no god, then we certainly seemed headed for destruction. What evidence have we that any “peaceful coexistence” can ever be achieved? If there is a god, then is it not logical that, at some point, said god would make himself known and rule? Or do we wait until either a superior race evolves or arrives from another planet? Will we then be required to worship said race?

On a side note, some like to suggest thinking such as my own is wishful. This is what I want to happen so this is what I believe. This is partly correct. My wish is to live in peace, to enjoy the fruits of my labor and continuous happiness. In as much as I see the only way to achieve this is for God to finally eradicate the devil and for His Son Jesus to take his throne, then, certainly, this is what I want to happen. While I absolutely believe this will indeed happen one day, I have no idea if it will be in my lifetime or another thousand years from now. I cannot say for sure what life will be like then but I can only expect it to be far beyond quite pleasant. Why do I believe this? Everything I understand, everything I've learned over the years point to this. If they had pointed to some man-made utopia, I would be fine with that. I am far too self-centered to care HOW my happiness comes about – at least I would be without God's influence. Even today, if I felt working towards a true republic would bear fruit, I would set to it. For years I believed in “working with the system”. If only we would all get our carcasses to party functions and become involved in the process, we could change things. That didn't work out so well. While I do have a rather active imagination and often engage in all kinds of mental exercises, I am reasonably adept at resigning myself to reality. In addition, I have no qualms about adjusting my beliefs to fit the facts and no desire at all to try to rework the facts to fit my beliefs. If my desire was to live in some “fantasy world”, surely I could choose one better than this present world. And, yes, I would likely choose a path promising more immediate and pleasurable benefits that the one I am on – to that end...

All of this pondering about God and the devil skirts around one issue of particular interest to me – happiness. In recent years, I've ventured on a personal mission to increase my own level of happiness. Even with the many blessings God has granted me over the years, somehow I manged to become increasingly miserable. Was it depression? No, it was more like attitude. One concept most every Christian struggles with is doing God's Will. The flip side of this is sin. From what I've seen we focus more on sin than the doing God's Will though they are essentially opposite sides of the same coin. We talk about confession and forgiveness and surrender, etc., etc., etc. What took me so long to realize was God WANTS me to be happy. He wants us all to be happy. Seriously happy. Deliriously happy. Really. Happy. This is God's Will for us. Those sinful things we “want” to do lead to our own misery. Is this to say I was miserable for so long because I resisted God's Will? I didn't feel all that sinful. I love my wife and my kids, I do not drink much alcohol at all. Indeed a six pack of beer has been known to last for months in our house. I do not partake of other drugs, I do not play around... the list goes on. So where was my sin? They were in the so-called “little things”. Mostly, I spent years pursuing pleasures with which the world enticed me. So much in the way a husband and wife might drift away from each other, distracted by other things, my relationship with God waned over the years. As I write this, I now see so many parallels between a marriage and my relationship with God. Both take effort, Both require attention and awareness. Both require I set aside my own selfish needs and desires in pursuit of something greater than myself. We tend to consider “God” as this angry dude perched above waiting to descend and punish us for the slightest infraction. I contend God does not want children who obey Him only out of fear of punishment. He has something much greater in store for us – something we cannot even imagine at this juncture. Something so wonderful that everything we have endured to this point – everything HE has endured is more than worth the price we pay now. We do not, can not, understand why this evil has a crucial role in our life here but I can assure you, that if my God so willed it, He could certainly have arraigned things so we not born in a world such as this.

My conclusion is God wants me to do His Will because He wants me to be happy! Much of my unhappiness lies in the fact that my understanding of what it means to be happy is misconstrued. I am not alone here either. How many times have you heard, “I'd be happy if I only had such and such”? If I won the lottery. If I this person loved me or if they realized how much I loved her. If I had a different job. If I had a different car. If I only had that house. The common thread? “If I HAD”. Most of our presumed happiness centers around things. The rest around circumstances. Between these two, most of us hang our degree of happiness. So what happens when we receive these things? We want more. As such “happiness” is a brass ring that is always just out of reach. Whereas true happiness transcends all of these things. Whether or not you believe in God, chances are you can see the truth in what I am saying. My God teaches me to shun those things that detract from happiness and embrace those things that enhance it. Evil of any sort is not once encouraged.

Think about just some of the things we all do every day – making snide remarks about others, gossiping, telling “white lies”, deceiving others, coveting what others have... the list goes on. Does any of these things bring happiness? Think about the last time you did something really good for someone else, or something someone did for you... not for gain but just “out of the blue”. How did it make you feel? I cannot speak for anyone else but such acts make me feel good. Imagine that. Certainly there are those who can devise all kinds of scenarios pointing to a god who is a mix of good and evil or possibly just plain evil. I doubt if either of these two concepts would hold up under close scrutiny. In the first instance, just as a lie salts the truth, evil pollutes good. Thus any being I can perceive as “both good and evil” must be, in essence evil. We are then left with an evil being who introduces “good” as a multiplier for suffering. Even if a case could be made for this, the end result would still be disastrous as we will eventually destroy ourselves. I can ascertain this by the most cursory glance at human “progress”. We've gone from gathering to farming to hunting to social structures all leading to disputes, conquests and war. We've evolved from bare hands to sticks and stones to nuclear armaments. Is there a shred of evidence suggesting we will all suddenly lay down our weapons, sit around a campfire and sing “Kumbaya”? Do you really think those people calling for “world peace” and/or a “world government” are the pure of heart? I've got news for you... the local cops cannot deter or prevent crime with any sustainable degree of effectiveness. Centralizing law enforcement is not the answer nor is a total police state – just ask your friendly neighborhood federal or state convict.

What does happiness have to do with the devil? A lot. Humans seek pleasure. Sure, dogs seek pleasure to but we are unique in our ability to invent new ways to sate our desires. Even the most advanced primate has yet to invent “the ultimate driving machine”. We tend to equate pleasure with happiness. We are often disappointed in our results and move on to the next thing. A man who enjoys fishing may well have his favorite spot but the pleasure derived from visiting it will wane over time. He will seek out new locations, possibly even exotic locations. While his current equipment may be exactly what he always dreamed of, soon a new device will likely garner his attentions. In short, we are never happy with the way things are. The devil takes full advantage of this and is quick to point out what is lacking in our lives. For those of you who snort at this idea, picturing some grotesque horned monster pulling the strings on some unaware human like a marionette, I'll suggest a couple of things. First, the devil is described as a beautiful creature once being second in command to God Himself. What does he look like today? Who knows? All I can say is the devil is likely capable of looking sharp – evil can be, and usually is, deceptive in nature. Second, just as you won't see the CEO of Walmart checking your purchases out at the store, the devil is unlikely to personally deal with you. Both have underlings for these things. Direct action is not so much his thing either.

You see, much as we tend to envision the devil as this “super being” who can appear debonair and charming one moment and as a powerful bloodthirsty demon the next, we forget his more subtle side. Is this not what scripture's first description of him says? Gen 3:1 “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast...”. The danger here is we tend to focus on the distractions. The fires that need quenching. They never stop, but rather, just keep coming. His attacks are often not so much “full frontal” but flanking. Many of us, even those who either outright deny God or hold Him at arm's length will turn to God in a crisis. Even many who claim Christ only turn to prayer when they are in trouble. My point is not to judge but to suggest that often a full bore attack may have the opposite effect. On the other hand, distractions, particularly distractions upon distractions can be particularly devastating. One might climb a wall in our path but we might easily be lead astray if the way “around” the wall is enticing enough and soon we become lost. In case you haven't noticed, most people experience one bad thing after another. They overlap, pile up and eventually converge into an overwhelming mess. Yes, some folks do indeed turn to God at this point but, often, they become angry and demanding. They want to know why God allowed all of this to come down on them. Many, if they would be honest with themselves, would have to admit they are responsible for much of their own troubles. They didn't just happen to fall in love with another woman – they flirted and pursued and pushed on until they were in full-fledged cheating mode. In the same way we all produce our own level of happiness via the choices we make. We choose to turn the TV on and the channels we watch, the stations we listen to, the things we read. While we often simply react to situations around us, do we not choose how we condition ourselves to react? How many times have you said, “If s/he does such and such, I'm going to...”? And do you do what you anticipated? More often than not, the situation you anticipate never occurs. Even so you set in your mind how you expect to react and your mind has gone over hundreds of situations over the years. In essence you are programming yourself to react a certain way to certain stimuli. Whether you believe in God or not, much of your mindset, your attitude is directly related to what you feed your mind.

As for myself, while I was aware of this principle from the very beginning of my Christian journey, I, well, got distracted. I cannot blame anyone but myself as the distractions were often those that I chose. I was as gullible as anyone else. It is only lately I've realized how foolish I've been. All the distractions I've chosen were, in one way or another, in search of happiness. Many of them had the opposite effect, driving me further and further into my miserable mental pit. One day the truth hit me like a 2x4: God WANTS me to be happy. Doing His Will will lead to nothing else. NOT doing His Will only leads to more misery. Yes, you can find all sorts of examples that seem to contradict this principle – Jesus the Messiah being the most graphic example. We look upon the brutal death of the Messiah, the only begotten Son of God and ask how can this be? The answer lies in looking beyond this. Look even beyond the resurrection of Jesus – to the time when he returns as King of kings and Lord of lords. I don't know about you but I tend to think of “happiness” as a constant state where nothing phases me. This concept, I think, is rather unrealistic, as is the idea that if we always do God's Will, nothing bad will ever happen to us. In this world, such ideas are fantasy. That said, which is better? Trying to maintain that bad things will never happen if only you “believe enough” or accepting that bad things are going to occur and resolve yourself to accept the bad with the good? I wonder why then, people who otherwise claim to be rational, expect Christians to live in such a fantasy world or never to do or accept anything “bad”.

In conclusion, Paul Harvey, years after his death left the piece “If I Were the Devil” as part of his legacy. As this work makes the rounds today, the impact of this piece remains profound. While it appears much of what he wrote about came to be, I contend such things already existed in some form at the time. Harvey extrapolated what was already happening. Either way, I am confident he would agree that his work only scratched the surface of evil, or as portrayed by Paul Harvey... the devil. No matter what you believe or do not believe, the existence of evil is hard to deny. What can be done about it? If good cannot overcome evil then mankind's future is bleak. If good can overcome evil, then shouldn't each of us do our part? Are we waiting for Utopia, in whatever form you can imagine, to arrive and wipe out evil? It will not happen by itself. As for myself, I will continue to seek out God's Will for me. While I am confident my assessment is correct, if I am someday proven wrong, what harm have I done? Can you say the same about the path you've chosen?

Joshua 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve... but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD