n e w c h u r c h l i f e : j u ly / au g u s t 2 0 1 4
just one more of the demons, the false
ideas, telling us lies. Some part of us
might recognize that the Lord is what
we need, and we might feel mentally
humbled, like this man bowing before
the Lord. But it’s not a worship of
adoration, it’s a worship of fear. “Don’t
make me change! Change hurts. It
would be easier just to stay this way.”
It’s like the children of Israel wanting to
go back to the slavery they were used
to, rather than face the wilderness of
change.
So the Lord begins to cast out
the demons: “Come out of the man,
unclean spirit!” But then He stops and asks: “What is your name?”
“What is your name?” This is where we begin to see why this is a more
involved exorcism. This isn’t just a simple one-step casting out. There’s a bit
more of a process. Before we can have our demons removed, we have to name
them. The Lord wants us to name our problems. “I’m feeling like nobody loves
me. I’m thinking that I’ve got it worse than anyone else.”
Like Adam naming the animals, when we name things we have power
over them. Like the fairy tale of the villain Rumpelstiltskin, who lost his power
when someone discovered his name. If we name things, we begin to see them
for what they really are. Why do I feel so horrible? I need to name it. Selfexamination.
Sometimes when we find ourselves in a bad mood and we can’t pinpoint
why, or how we got there, it can help to think back through the day or the
week, and take note of the negative things that could have contributed to our
bad mood. Once we add them up, we often realize why we feel so horrible, and
we can feel a little better because now at least we understand why we feel this
way. We’ve named our problems, and that has taken away some of their power.
And so the Lord asks us, “What is your name?”
And the man answers: “My name is Legion; for we are many.” (See True
Christian Religion 533, Chadwick translation) A legion was a unit of Roman
soldiers. It varied in number over time, but it was always several thousand
men. How is it possible that thousands of evil spirits could possess one person?
Well, in our case, we often have thousands of false ideas and lies that
torment us in our minds: “If I just had more money, then I’d be happy. The
only reason I’m so miserable is because my family makes me miserable. I don’t
have time to focus on spiritual things. I’m not lovable; that’s why no one loves
This is the first step
in our repentance and
spiritual reformation:
self-examination. It
is allowing the Lord’s
Divine Truth to give
us perspective on
our false ideas and
destructive behaviors.
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