Managing Destruction

Recently, I saw the movie John Carter. I wouldn’t recommend it. The plot is convoluted. An ex civil war soldier is transported to Mars, where he joins a battle against evil, involving dark angels, various alien creatures, and two opposing human civilizations! The movie had a few memorable lines though. One of the evil angels says: “We do not cause the destruction of a world…We simply manage it. Feed off it, if you like. It is a game we have been playing since the beginning…We will continue to play it long after Earth ends.”

I found this concept interesting. The dark angel goes on to say how civilizations eventually self-destruct by war, over-consumption of resources, or the desire for domination. The powers of evil just have to manage, supervise, and occasionally manipulate, while humans destroy themselves and their surroundings.

This got me thinking… How does evil go about manipulating me into self-destruction?

C.S. Lewis, in his book The Screw Tape Letters, describes the subtle, yet methodical tactics of evil. Impatience grows into annoyance, which comes out as angry and hurtful words. Pride and stubbornness promote self-righteousness and legalism. Self-interest leads to apathy towards others. Gluttony and greed become acceptable. The powers of darkness casually wait on the sidelines. A suggestion here, a tweak of emotion there, and humans can degenerate on their own.

Fortunately, God knew that humans were flawed, and He made a plan to save us from destruction.
“And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.  In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.” (2 Peter 1:4-7 NLT)