It seems that a vast majority of horror movies center around the devil. This is the case with M. Night Shyamalan's new movie, fittingly titled "Devil". The movie begins with a story, about how the devil takes human form, usually following a suicide, and then takes a group of people to hell with him. Most of the movie takes place in an elevator; similar to the concept of the movie Phone Booth, where most of the movie takes place in the phone booth. In the elevator, the passengers soon discover, is the physical embodyment of the devil. One by one, the devil begins to kill off the passengers, and take their souls. It is a chilling movie, and left me somewhat shaken afterwards, but it also raised some interesting questions about the power of the devil, the existence of the devil and believing in the devil and God.
I won't spoil any more of the movie, but I do want to ask a few questions, and give my opinion on the answers (and then give you room to give your perspective). The first question is the ability of the devil to take on human form. Can the devil walk among us, and look like us? As the bible says, the devil walks among us "...like a wolf in sheeps clothing". Is this saying that the Devil can put on a mask, hiding among us? Maybe. I don't know for sure, but I do know that the Devil can definately use people for his purpose (just like God uses people for his). If demon possession is real, which the bible sys it is and I believe it is, then it seems only logical that the devil taking possession of a human body could at least be very plausible.
The movie also implies that the devil has control over life. The devil chooses who is in the elevator, who dies and how they die. Also, the devil has power over physical objects, the ability to control peoples mind, and thoughts. Is this true? Does the devil have actual power and control over everyday life? In my opinion, no (or at least, not unless we give him that power). I think the devil can give us ideas, and tempt us with things. I think he can exploit our weaknesses, but I don't think he has actual physical power over us and what we do, and definately not over physical objects.
There are other questions that can be raised, however most of the questions would require a spoiler of the movie, or at least sort of, so I will not do that, because I don't like movie spoilers. There are some insightful quotes however, one being "everyone believes in [the devil] even a little bit", and another, "don't worry, if the devil is real, then that must mean God is real too". I think these quotes are great. It's true that everyone seems to believe in the devil, at least a little bit. Even athiests who claim there is no God, will give credit to the devil for bad things, even inadvertantly. There's a part in all of us who believes in the great villian, the Lord of Darkness, Satan, the devil. We almost WANT there to be a devil, because we can lay blame on him...we can give him the credit when bad things happen to us, and when we do bad things we can blame him for tempting us.
Christians can sometimes give too much credit to the devil, in my opinion. When people are sick, when finances are low, when people die, when disasters happen...we blame the devil. Everything is the devil's fault. We are afraid of watching certain movies because the devil may decieve us, or worse, possess us. We say we feel the devils presence in certain situations, and hear him. i'm not saying that these things can't be true, but I think we tend to focus so much on the devil, that we forget that God is greater than the devil. God CREATED the devil...and if the devil is real, then God must be real too. Like the Christians who are so focused on heaven that they miss out on earth, those Christians who focus so much on the devil and avoiding the devil tend to miss out on the love, mercy and glory of God.
The bottom line is, we have no need to worry. God is greater, God is stronger...God is higher than any other (sorry...got a little carried away with the Chris Tomlin there). Whatever power the devil has, God's power is infinitely greater. Why are we so afraid of the devil? Yes, the devil is the deciever, but God is the forgiver. God is the lover, protector and saviour. God already defeated the devil. The more we tend to focus on the devil, and think about the devil, the power we give him. It's like the old saying "no such thing as bad publicity". The goal of the devil is to keep our focus from God...and the more we think about the devil (even thinking about avoiding the devil), the more we are achieving that goal. So let's keep our eyes on the prize, keep our eyes on God. There is nothing to be afriad of, for God is in ultimate control.
That's my opinion, bu I realize that this topic can easily be discussed and argued over. Please, let me know what you think, ask questions, answer questions and give your own thoughts. And I recommend the movie Devil...yes, it is somewhat frigthening, but it could lead to great discussion. Blessings everyone, and keep focused on Christ.
1 comment:
I think many people believe in the Devil who won't admit it... And although the devil is powerful, as you remind us, we shouldn't give credit where it isn't due, and we can't be looking for a demon under every rock. Good post, Keith.
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