Watch Out for This Deceiver!
SUPPOSE you encountered someone who seemed quite friendly. You might be inclined to invite him into your home because he appeared to be good company. But then you discovered that he was a notorious criminal who was secretly corrupting the neighborhood. How would you react?
Well, you may not have realized it, but there is such a deceptive criminal who endangers all of us. He is Satan the Devil, and the Bible tells us he has been ‘hurled down to the earth along with his angels.’ (Revelation 12:9) That makes them dangerously close. Moreover, Satan often acts as if he wants nothing more than to give us a good time. So we need to watch out for this Deceiver. If we let him in, as it were, we lay ourselves open to all kinds of destructive influences, even as the apostle Paul indicates in saying: “Satan himself keeps transforming himself into an angel of light.”—2 Corinthians 11:14.
Now please consider some of the seemingly innocent ways people amuse themselves today. However, note how these give evidence of satanic influence.
The Games People Play
On a rainy Saturday afternoon many people enjoy getting together in a friend’s home, sitting around a table and playing games. Many such games are harmless, but at least two are far from harmless.
One of these is the Ouija (pronounced “wee-ja”) board. Invented about 1890, this is a board with an alphabet and other signs on it. Friends sit around the board, place their fingers on a pointer and ask questions. The pointer moves from one letter to another on the board, spelling out answers.
What kind of answers does it give? One purchaser of a Ouija board wrote to the manufacturer: “It was with great distress that we finally decided the total inaccuracy of the answers means only one thing—the Ouija board we own lies.” Another wrote: “I have one of your Ouija boards and use it with my friends. It gives very good answers early in the day and very dirty answers at night.”
Selena used to own a Ouija board and she reports that on one occasion the board spelled out that it liked her. When she asked why, the answer was: “Because you are a woman, and that makes all the difference.” There are many similar reports of lies, immorality and obscenity coming from the Ouija board.
What makes the board answer questions? An English newspaper noted: “The game, Ouija, is based on a Spiritualist method of ‘communicating’ with the dead, and is played with a board like those used at seances.” Consistent with this, many who use the board speak of getting in touch with spirits. Denise wrote to a newspaper and said that through a Ouija board she contacted a spirit that called itself Bob. She complained: “Bob has turned mean. He says he’s not a good spirit, but a demon in hell. He tells me I’m going insane and that soon he will take over my spirit and give me to the devil.”
If the Ouija board is made to work by spirits, what spirits are they? Certainly not spirits of the dead, because “the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5) It is unthinkable that any spirit from God would be responsible for giving out lies or immoral messages. So we can only conclude that the Ouija board is activated by demonic forces, the foremost of whom, Satan, is “the father of the lie.” (John 8:44) Clearly, the Ouija board, as well as all other forms of spiritism, should be shunned by those who wish to avoid Satan’s unclean influence.—Deuteronomy 18:10-12.
Another popular game is called Dungeons and Dragons. In this, players assume the roles of monsters, demons and demigods, as well as of murderers, arsonists, rapists and torturers. Pleasant company to have in your living room? It often involves players’ acting out spiritism and magic. Does that sound healthy to you? It certainly is not, for uncleanness and the practice of spiritism are among “the works of the flesh” that will bar a person from inheriting God’s Kingdom.—Galatians 5:19-21.
One “Dungeon Master,” John Holmes, writing in the magazine Psychology Today, said: “I don’t think this imaginary violence is any more likely to warp the minds of the participants than is the endless stream of violence in TV, movies, or literature.” Well, many feel that “the endless stream of violence” in modern entertainment does warp the minds of those exposed to it. What do you think? Does it not sound as though the Deceiver, Satan the Devil, is trying to use this game to get us to think like him?
The Movies They Watch
What sort of entertainment are people seeking today for relaxation at the movies? Millions choose immorality or luridly detailed violence. Or they are intrigued by horror and demonistic movies. These latter ones are dangerous because they cater to an unhealthy fascination with uncanny things, which ultimately are harmful. (2 Chronicles 33:6) And they can have serious immediate effects on susceptible persons.
Some years ago Roxanne went to see the movie The Exorcist, which spawned a host of imitations. She says: “The movie had a terrifying effect on me. I had to leave before it was over because I was afraid I would be sick to my stomach and felt like fainting. For about two months after seeing the movie, I continued to be terrified and would have nightmares. I wouldn’t go anywhere alone, would watch over my shoulder all the time and was even afraid to wash my hair for fear something would be hovering over me.” Another woman, who saw the same movie on television, later cut out her four-year-old daughter’s heart because she believed the girl was demonized.
Satan is called “the god of this system of things,” and “the ruler of the authority of the air, the spirit that now operates in the sons of disobedience.” (2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2) Can anyone doubt that the widespread demonism, violence and immorality in movies today is a result of his influence?
The Music They Listen To
Many complain at the loudness of some modern music. Those who take the trouble to read the lyrics are often horrified by the words. Former disc jockey Cal Walker says that in much modern music there are five basic themes: “Sex, drugs, violence, occult and rebellion.”
Some music groups are reported as being deeply involved in the occult. Certainly, the design of many of the album covers has an uncanny or occult appearance. And often the lyrics appear to promote occult themes. Can you discern the Deceiver’s influence in this?
Immorality, occultism, and so forth, are certainly not godly influences. The Bible warns: “But as for . . . those who are disgusting in their filth and murderers and fornicators and those practicing spiritism and idolaters and all the liars, their portion will be . . . the second death.” (Revelation 21:8) Music may be basically good and wholesome. But wise persons will be careful to avoid allowing a pleasant diversion to become an opening for demonic influence.
The Exercise They Do
In many parts of the world people are jogging, doing aerobic exercises, engaging in sports, swimming and in other ways trying to make themselves more fit. Is there anything wrong in that? Not when it is done in moderation. “Bodily training is beneficial for a little,” said the apostle Paul. (1 Timothy 4:8) But there is a form of exercise that could cause unexpected problems: yoga.
Yoga (a Sanskrit word signifying “union of the individual soul with the Supreme Spirit”) consists of physical and mental exercises, postures, breathing exercises and intense meditation and concentration. Originating in India, it has been westernized and used to reduce tension, lose weight and gain energy. Books on the market such as Practical Yoga for Businessmen and Yoga for Parents indicate its popularity. Would you practice yoga?
If so, consider this fact: real yoga is not merely a form of exercise. It is a Hindu religious practice. “The chief aim of the Yoga philosophy is to teach the means by which the human soul may be completely united with the Supreme Spirit,” according to Dr. B. S. Surti. That seems a long way from Yoga for Businessmen, but it is what yoga exercises were originally designed to achieve.
Particularly problematical is yoga-type meditation. Some may point to the fact that the Bible, too, encourages meditation. However, Christian meditation is an active meditation, pondering on upbuilding and beneficial matters. (Psalm 63:6; Proverbs 15:28; Philippians 4:8) Yoga-style meditation is something else. “The soul’s essence, pure intelligence, is obscured by mental activities, whose suppression is the main purpose of Yoga. The mind is to be controlled by constant practice of meditation and nonattachment to material objects. The ultimate result is the suppression of all mental tendencies, conscious or latent.”—The Encyclopedia Americana.
Is such emptying of the mind healthy? One practicer reports that during one extended period of exercise and meditation, he felt frequent attacks by invisible forces. The demons can take advantage of a mind that is empty and fill it with their own thoughts. (Luke 11:24-26) So beware! This practice could make you their prey.
The Video-Game Craze
In recent years, a new fad has swept the world: video games. Each year, billions of dollars are poured into arcade machines, and billions more are spent on home video games. Are the games harmful? ‘No,’ say some. ‘They may even be beneficial.’ But they are banned in some lands, and local communities in other lands have tried to keep them out. Is this an overreaction?
Well, consider the kind of games that are played. Some are based on sports, but most are not. “The ultimate object of virtually all video games,” says the magazine Natural History, “is survival. In the space games you must shoot them before they shoot you. In the Pac ‘person’ genre, you eat them before they eat you. And in the comic character games, you assault the creature . . . before it assaults you.” Why is it the violent games that have caught the imagination? Historian Jack Colhoun feels: “These games are a product of our times.” We live in a violent world, and young people are trained to view violence as exciting rather than repugnant. Yet the Bible says: “Jehovah himself examines the righteous one as well as the wicked one, and anyone loving violence His soul certainly hates.”—Psalm 11:5.
The magazine Psychology Today indicates the harmful effect these games may have: “The video games . . . may not only be socially isolating but may actually encourage violence between people.” Young people can be especially harmed by such an influence. Hence, columnist John Rosemund insists: “Video games are junk food for the mind. The younger the mind, the more detrimental their effects.”
Video games may even be addictive. A university professor explained that addiction to video games is both physical and psychological. He said: “Players experience adrenaline rushes, elation and, finally, despair, as well as whole ranges of aggression and violent reactions.” A mother in England says this about the addiction of her 14-year-old son: “It is like having a teenage alcoholic in the house. These machines have corrupted him . . . He is like a caged animal if he can’t get to them.” An extreme case? Perhaps. But the widespread occurrence of “Pacman finger,” “Space Invader wrist tendinitis” and other game-related physical problems shows that addiction is not uncommon.
Youths naturally crave excitement and are fascinated by novelties. But how wise it is for Christian youths to be careful to let nothing prevent them from living “with soundness of mind and righteousness and godly devotion amid this present system of things”! (Titus 2:12) They thus will not allow the Deceiver to rob them of their time, or their mental and emotional energy, by getting them addicted to video games.
Some physical exercise, certain music, many games and various movies are entertaining and relaxing. But remember: Such things can also be a vehicle for unwholesome influences. Be alert and on guard against these. The Great Deceiver, Satan, may seem interested in your having a good time. But in the end, his influence will harm you. Do not let him into your home or into your life. “Oppose the Devil, and he will flee from you.”—James 4:7.
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Some games are dangerous
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Should you practice yoga-type meditation?