What makes something satanic. . .

Although we typically look at the outcomes as much as intentions, could it be that there is another measure to tell us what is demonic?  Could it be that what makes something evil and satanic is how much of our attention it extracts from us?  The reality is that the devil does not have to make us evil to get his job done.  He merely has to turn our eyes away from Jesus and the things of God and onto other things.  They might be terrible things, immoral and perverse in every way.  Or, maybe they are not.  Maybe they are things that could be good or could be bad -- it all depends on what we do with them and how much we invest of ourselves in them.

A number of people, not just religious ones, have suggested that some of the things we thought we such blessings have become demonic.  Among them is the screen.  Whether it is a 95 inch diagonal curved home theater screen or a tiny screen we hold in the palm of our hand or anything in between, the screens consume us.  It is not simply that the screens hold more pornography than was ever printed on paper.  It is that the screen occupies our attention and consumes the time that could be spent working on behalf of those in our care, acting in love for the benefit of our neighbor, or doing the works of God while it is day.  Perhaps some of you are wondering why a blogger might be warning you about reading a blog on a screen -- sort of the pot calling the kettle black, right?  Except that I do not spend much time on my screens except to do what is my calling and a little recreational pastoral meandering blogging.  

Technology has become a deity in itself.  Some people spend their whole day on their devices and yet have no time to talk to somebody on the phone.  Could it be that their pursuit of things on the internet is as much their addiction as the things themselves?  That is where I am afraid.  It was not quality family time when the whole group of us planted ourselves in front of a black and white TV to watch Bonanza on Sunday nights but at least we were together watching something that was neither hate speech or porn.  Get rid of both of these and you have trouble finding something to watch today.

Technology is not the only thing to distract you from Jesus.  Pleasure and amusement work hand in hand with that technology.  Happiness is itself an unending quest that consumes more than rewards.  Experiences can also become the idols of our lives (living and doing and going places).  Sorrows and struggles can also distract us from and alienate us from our Lord.  We live in a world of depression and despair and these things can also occupy our waking moments and become our nightmares as well.  Things we purchase or own are not far behind.  When Jesus takes a backseat to anything in our lives, that thing that consumes us becomes something less than salutary.

People who complain that they do not see Jesus are often not looking for Him either.  Like Thomas, we complain to Jesus that His figurative speech and parables are not helping us to know where He is going much less to know the way.  Like Philip we are often exasperated with Jesus when all we want is THE sign -- Show us the Father!  Could it be that Jesus is as exasperated with us as He certainly was with Thomas and Philip?  How long have you been with me and still you do not get it?  It is not that we do not get it, we are not looking at Jesus.  For the disciples this revealed itself while they were arguing about who was greatest and Jesus was talking about the cross.  Not to mention when they slept away the time while Jesus prayed in Gethsemane -- prayed for THEM.  We are as much a distraction from Jesus as our things.  But our Lord is ever telling us to look at Him.  Look at Him and see the Father by the power of the Spirit.

Maybe the battle is not simply with the bad stuff out there but hearts so easily distracted that we do not see Jesus or even bother to look for Him or at Him anymore.  No wonder faith is dead.