Are You a Threat?

There's a story in the bible about seven dudes who are called the sons of Sceva.  According to the story Sceva was a Jewish chief priest, and his sons seemed to be attempting to impress him by casting out a demon.  The story is found in Acts 19:11-16, and takes place during Paul's ministry.  We are told that it was well known that Paul was doing some pretty intense stuff.  Miracles like casting out demons and healing were happening regularly.

Because Paul did such, "cool" and, "impressive" things, and because he talked about Jesus, it looks like the Sons of Sceva put two and two together: Paul talks a lot about Jesus and he does miracles like casting out demons, therefore in order to cast out a demon we must have to mention Jesus.  So that's what they did.

The story goes that the Seven Sons of Sceva approached a man who was demon-possessed, and addressed the demon, saying these words: "I command you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches to come out!".  Different versions arrange the words differently from time to time, but the idea and command is the same.  The demon, in what I imagine was a terrifyingly confident and mocking voice, replied with this: "Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize--but who are you?" The story then tells us that he leaped upon them, and beat the living daylights out of all seven of them.  All seven.  The bible literally says they ran out of that house, "naked and wounded".

Whenever I used to read this story, or heard pastors talk about it, the focus always seemed to be on the method.  Everyone always seems to bash the Sons of Sceva for not knowing how to properly perform an exorcism, or for not having enough confidence, authority, and faith in Christ.  Up until recently I believed that this stuff really was the root of the problem, and spent my life living in fear that if I ever came across someone who was demon-possessed I might not have the confidence, authority, or know-how to, 'scare away' the demon.

But is that really the issue with the Sons of Sceva?  Were they really just not schooled enough in the, "Art of exorcism"?

About a month ago I was reading a book called Love Does by a man named Bob Goff(excellent read, highly recommend it).  In one of the chapters he very briefly mentions the Sons of Sceva, and alludes to the fact that he thinks the root of the problem is exactly what the demon said: it had no idea who they were.

They had done nothing for the enemy to take notice of.

Christians talk a lot about Spiritual Warfare.  And we do it in a lot of big words.  We make it sound like a very complex, intense, CRAZY thing that only happens when we are praying for people who are demon-possessed, or when we hear about huge catastrophes happening around the world.  Or, we just straight up say its only happening between the angels and demons, and that we have nothing to do with it except that we're the prize they're all fighting for.  While I do not at all refute the fact that so much of spiritual warfare takes place where we can not see it, and that it is indeed happening when exorcisms are performed or when children are being slaughtered by ISIS, I don't think this war is only happening when it is plainly visible.  And I don't think that any human at any point in time is just a bystander.  If anything, those catastrophes and exorcisms are skirmishes and diversions that result from the main part of the war: Everyday life.

Every single day we are faced with decisions.  Every single day we have opportunities to speak words of either love, hate, or indifference(which, for anyone who has been ignored or treated as irrelevant, can be just as bad--if not worse--than words of hate) to each and every person we interact with whether it's a coffee barista, a co-worker, our kids, or our spouse.  Each decision and word takes a step in one of two directions: the direction of the enemy, or the direction of God and His love.  There is no in between.  I think this is one of the reasons that Jesus has such a hard time with people who are, "Luke-warm"(Revelations 3:14-21). 

If Satan and his demons are as real and evil as we claim to believe they are, then we can be sure of the fact that they are an army hell-bent(no pun intended) on the complete obliteration of all love and goodness, and they most definitely communicate with each other.  And if Satan is as cunning and smart as the bible claims him to be, then you can be sure he makes it a priority to identify his biggest threats in the war.  I'm sure that list has plenty of exorcists on it, and no doubt there are more than a few pastors on there.  But do you know who I think makes the top of that list?  Loving mothers and fathers.  Nurses who work extra hard just to make sure their patients are comfortable AND getting healed.  People who go out of their own way to be kind, gentle, patient, giving, and loving.  People who live a lifestyle that stems from--and, as a result, proclaims--love.  These people won't be found seeking out demons to exorcise or arguing with athiests.  They'll be found in their kitchens making meals for friends who are low on income.  They'll be seen having actual conversations with the homeless guy on the corner that everyone else just throws money at or ignores.  They'll be overheard laughing with people, crying with people, and singing with people.  They are the real threats to Satan's battle strategy: they are the ones who make conscious decisions every day to love people.

Now, if someone like that did come across a demon-possessed person, I can't say for sure whether or not the demon would listen to them.  Honestly I can't.  There's a lot about exorcisms, demons, and the spiritual side of things that I truly DON'T know.  But I'd be willing to bet quite a lot of money that the demon would at least recognize who that person is, and it would probably be feeling anxious.

The issue with the Sons of Sceva wasn't that they, "did it wrong".  The issue is that they weren't a threat.  They didn't live lives that were concerning to the enemy or disastrous to his plans.  He wasn't worried about them, and he certainly wasn't afraid of them.

The title of this post has become a question that I now try to integrate into my life and ask myself every single day: Are you a threat?  Are you a living, loving, frustrating threat?