What is the Nature of Your Emergency?

For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:12

What's driving me to drink this week is denial. Specifically, denial when it comes to evil.

I've been reading a short book by Lutheran theologian Eric W. Gritsch, called A Handbook for the Christian Life in the 21st Century. I was a little surprised that chapter one of this book--before all else--is "Evil." Gritsch notes that evil is "an undeniable reality of everyday life". You don't have to be a Christian, or even a person of faith, to acknowledge that evil is a real thing. But at the same time, Gritsch contends, we have too often underestimated evil in the world. While we know something is at work against us and against our relationship with God, one another, and creation, we tend to refuse to fully examine and diagnose what it is...often we don't want to know. Dr. Gritsch asserts that a proper diagnosis of evil is the first step of spiritual formation, saying that we Christians ought to train as "911 operators, as it were, indeed, to be the 911 system for help against evil."

I'm thankful to have only had to call 911 twice in my life, neither time for truly life-threatening emergencies. But both times, the operator began with a basic question: "911; what is the nature of your emergency?" It is not the operator's job to drive to our house, to make arrests, leap through burning buildings, or administer CPR. The operator's job is simply to figure out what the problem is, then immediately patch the call through to someone who can help. This is what we do as Christians: look and listen, determine based on theological reflection what kind of evil may be in play, and promptly refer the matter to God in prayer, and prepare ourselves of be a part of God's loving response should the need arise.

Just this very first step--diagnosis--is further than we often get. Gritsch writes that the first sign of evil is confusion. Below is not only my favorite scene in all of cinema, but also a great example of what I mean:





What's interesting (and very typical of evil, based on the Biblical witness) is that Vader is more than willing to lie, if it serves his purpose. But he doesn't do it if he doesn't need to. His strategy is not necessarily to deceive, but to confuse, and thereby manipulate. Every fact he shares with Luke is accurate, including that Obi Wan did not give him the whole story of his past. But the conclusion Vader draws--that the dark side is more trustworthy--could not be further from the truth.

Scripture establishes this again and again as Satan's M.O. The Temptation in the Wilderness is a great example. Satan tells Jesus the truth: he could turn stones to bread; he could throw himself from the temple; and he probably could even gain temporal power by abandoning God. But the conclusion drawn--that pursuing power is more fruitful than obedience to God--is and always will be false. Blatant lies can be debunked easily enough; truth misused, however, is much more dangerous.

This past Sunday, my son was baptized. This coming Sunday, five Salem kids will affirm their baptism. In both cases, the very first question posed to a candidate (or in Soren's case, us as his "stand-in's") is: "Do you renounce the devil and all the forces that defy God?" Recognizing that evil exists, and renouncing it, is a founding principle of faith in Jesus Christ. And we can't renounce what we don't admit is there...in the world, and in our own hearts.

By our union with the crucified Christ, we are saved from sin, death and the devil, just as surely as we are saved for abundant life with God, now and in the age to come. May our trainer, Jesus, continue to sharpen our skills as "911 operators" in the fight against evil.