at the root, vol 3 of 3

Envy. Avarice.

Two of seven deadly, these frighten me. The desire to have in such a way that would be happy leaving others in want. The desire to posses only for the sake of possession. I believe these two sins to be at the root of all that a demon does.

No other sin has such wretched intent. No other sin puts others lower than the avaritioner or envier. Yet – that is at the very core of a demon and now of the devil. I think it not that he desires his own glory. He merely desires to rob others of the glory of God – in which he is unable to take part. His sole purpose is to thwart our efforts to come to know God better. He would rather us be like him – knowing the depth and pit of despair than the riches of mercy. He spends his time searching the earth for righteous people to bring down and harm and crucify. He sends his minions to do the dirty work. And that is scary.

It is a double greediness. The desire for one’s own good and another’s evil. For Satan, his good is more power and our despair is his joy. This total lack of love and mercy is the scariest part of demonic possession. They will do anything to succeed at our failure.

The saddest part is that we find these same attributes in our own lives. We are a depraved people who need more than this world (or our own pride) has to offer.

(there’s more to this – but I began rambling a long time ago)