The Three Most Senseless Ways to Flirt With Evil

There are many ways to flirt with evil.  Here are three of the most senseless ways to do so.

Making yourself a god: The primordial temptation, which Satan experienced, and which he shared with Adam and Eve, was the temptation to make oneself into the arbiter of right and wrong and even of reality itself. When we take too much pleasure in ourselves, look upon ourselves as more glorious than we are, embrace a feeling of strength and power, particularly in our youth, we set ourselves up, mentally, to make ourselves into little gods. Then, as a god, we will do what we want. We will do what pleases us.

Here, we shirk all moral obligations that come to us from our God and Creator, for they do not really apply to us, so we think. A whole host of wickedness, of all sorts and styles, will flow from this stupid pride to which we consent. It often takes a moment of painful humiliation to bring us down from the high place upon which we have set ourselves. To remember that we are mere creatures, weak and frail and dependent, for all things, on God our Father, will direct us away from foolishness and on the path of eternal wisdom.

Playing with the Occult: It should be quite obvious, though it is no longer always the case, that Satan is evil and only wants to harm us. Exorcists have seen many cases of diabolical influence begin with consent to diabolical invitations: to pride, to revenge, to power, to fame. As we know, from knowledge and reflection, demons surveil us at all times. If we ever, out of anger or desperation or pride or thirst for power, embrace a tool of the occult, even in our speech, we are essentially speaking to a demon, or inviting one to answer our request. This is like going to a zoo and thinking it would be a great idea, in order to get a real close-up picture of a lion, to hop the fence and run right up to him. “Foolish Galatian,” you will, of course, get what you wanted, but the lion will also devour you.

Following the Spirit of the Age: To glory in change, in so-called “progress,” and in novelty, as the current age of the world does, setting aside the wisdom of the past, and the truth and understanding that has been handed on to us from our ancestors, is an irrational intellectual posture that sets us up for moral and spiritual failure. In order to reject the good and the true, which have been preserved in and handed on to us by the past, a serious lack of right reason must occupy the mind. This pursuit of novelty and change is based in the desire to be amused and entertained, in a posture of resistance to hard work and self-discipline, and of humble acceptance of an objective reality and morality which does not depend on us in order for it to be good and true. Look to the great men and women of the past, the great saints, in whom Truth, Beauty, and Goodness reached a plenitude. Imitate their thoughts and actions, and you will find for yourself the same fulfillment and peace.

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