Into the Fire

We hate, manipulate, connive, demand, deny, lust, lie, cuss, curse, swear, become addicted, fight, argue, murder, rape, steal, envy, idolize, can be perverse, perform spells and seek witchcraft, follow Satan, cheat, mock, torture, destroy, self-seek, rage, gossip and . . . Have I left anything out here? This is who we are or can be in this body of flesh.

Is it any wonder we all need a Savior?

Many of us will never meet the embodiment of all this evil face-to-face. In the spiritual realm there are a few of us who have the horror of dealing directly with demonic beings. We must take courage from the One who tells us “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” Because if we doubt that, we most certainly will be victimized by the enemy of our souls.

Now, read that list at the top one more time. Be honest. Many of those flaws are bargaining for release within us on a daily basis, conflicting with who we have become in Christ. Vying for authority. Pushing to be practiced. The battle of the flesh vs. the spirit, taking place in our minds, making arguments in the invisible court trials of physical reasoning vs. spiritual truth. Too often we succumb to that physical reasoning. And learn to regret it.

While writing should expose and portray evil, it should never celebrate it. The more accurately our vices are demonstrated, the more empathy our readers will find themselves feeling for our characters. If our protagonist has serious flaws, we better make sure those flaws are the more common of many choices because if we alienate our readers from siding with him, we will fight the war of convincing them he’s redeemable and worthy of that redemption. If we make our antagonist too grotesque, we risk believability factors with our readers. However, a writer has more range with the bad guy depending upon the type of story written.

Objectivity in writing characters is tough. We naturally favor certain characters just as we favor certain people. Many of us have to rely on our imagination and the influences of the media to create certain kinds of evil, but others of us have only to look deep inside ourselves to find the churning counsel of the flesh.

Some folks have a difficult time admitting people are evil. They insist there are reasons somehow beyond the control of such individuals which drives them to do the despicable—in other words: It’s not their faults. Uh-huh. While it is true that the mistreatment and abuse of some carries over to others, there remains a choice to correct or improve one’s life from the bleakness experienced. Yet, there are those who insist on committing evil against others by justifying their intentions with some form of fanaticism. Since Christ says we are either for Him or against Him, we must understand that if we or anyone else is opposed to Him, we or they stand on the side of evil. Whether or not they “look” evil, or “project” evil, or “speak” evil. Some individuals are, in fact, driven by evil, pawns of the demonic strongholds in their lives.

As Christians, we are not free from the struggles or temptations of sin or evil, but we are freed from the slavery of its demands. We have acknowledged we now have choices because of what Jesus completed for us. And because of the love we have for Him, we desire to decrease our sinfulness and increase our holiness.

From that stance comes the focus of Christian fiction. Not from a place of acquired perfection but from the place of being rescued from the chains of evil and sinful bondage to our old nature which in varying degrees created ugly behavior, habits, and addictions in our lives. We write from a place of recognition of the war between the flesh and the spirit, knowing from experience that if we fully yield to God’s remedy for our souls, we will be free to offer hope and truth to any who desire to escape the crushing jaws of sin and evil and eternal punishment befitting the rejection of the Way, the Truth, and the Life found only in Jesus Christ.

God, I pray you’d let my writing touch people. Let them see the contrast between living for evil and living for you. Help them to desire Truth and righteousness. Lead them to Jesus, Holy Spirit. Let them know and choose your never ending love. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.