It is believed by those who need to make a choice that they cannot. We believe that it is impossible in certain areas of our lives to choose to be different. Many simply believe that they are stuck with their obsessions, addictions, anger, self-righteousness and all the other deeds of the flesh.

They are like the person standing outside of their house in the snow, holding the key to the locked door, and screaming, “Would someone please let me in!” How can the believer be stuck, be locked out of victory, when they are the only one holding the key?

Let me illustrate. One man said to me, “I am addicted to porno!” At that, I responded, “I bet your family is sick of watching porno with you!” He replied, “Oh no, I never look at it around them!” My question is simple, how can he be addicted if he can choose when and where he watches the porno? How can a drug addict not be able to choose against the drugs when he chooses to purchase it and chooses to do it out of sight?

We hate to be confronted with this truth but we are doing exactly what we want, exactly what we choose to do! We are not unable to choose; we simply don’t want to choose the right thing. We are in unbelief and are constantly choosing. We have to pick between the words of Jesus and the voice of the flesh.

We CHOOSE the flesh. It is an inescapable fact. We are where we are today, all because of personal choice. Some will argue, “It wasn’t my choice to be molested, to have an alcoholic parent, to be emotionally and verbally abused, to be abandoned, to be unloved, and more.” All quite true and at first you reacted out of instinct. However, after maturing you have chosen what your reaction/lifestyle toward the event will be. After getting the proper information we may choose to remain victims, to not see God working, to blame others, to make those around us miserable, to make others pay, to live in self-hatred, to try to undo the past by duplicating it.

Two people have a common, horrific, event in their lives. Years later, one is sweet and the other sour. Why? We want to avoid the obvious, we want to give excuses but the fact is choice. One believed choice was greater than the past. The other did not.

Leadership is an interesting thing. In the Bible we see that some are born to be leaders while others are chosen to lead. However, in the family every man is commanded to lead. The world in contrast has taught that the family is ruled via majority. The media has imposed upon men the idea that children should be consulted before making decisions, that the wife need only submit to the husband who is in mutual submission.

As an Irish brother once exclaimed, “What passage in the Bible are these teachers using?” Good question. Accepting this definition of leadership has produced a generation of Christian fathers who are what might commonly be called passive dads.

The father is not to rule through consensus; he does not take the counsel of children. Rather, he seeks God for guidance, and he will find it in every situation. A leader has followers; followers will always have high expectations of the leader, and rightfully so. When we submit to a leader we desire that he be better than us, for our identity becomes intertwined in his. If I submit to a righteous man, then my self-esteem goes up. I feel good about being his servant. In fact, I see the glory of being subjected to him. I respect, admire, and appreciate him. I also want his direction. My hope is that he might lead me to the place where he is.

Obviously, he knows the way and is respected for it. When he asks of me things I do not understand, I obey, for I know that somehow it will benefit me. Therefore, the two most frustrating things to a follower is a leader that cannot be respected and one who will not lead.

Some, because of a good family setting, have had character chosen for them. Amen. However, it is such a blessing to see them grown and choosing a good life for themselves. It is more satisfying to have your children not take drugs because they don’t want to, than because you told them not to. Their own conviction will carry them when they are out of your sight, and it comes from the personal work of Christ in them. That is why, for every one time we warn them of drugs, we point them a hundred times to Jesus.

“and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. And constantly night and day, among the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out and gashing himself with stones.” Mark 5:3-5

Have you ever wondered what the day-by-day life of a demon is like? We often read the story of the demoniac in Mark 5 and relate it to the demons recognizing Jesus, the miraculous deliverance, or the hardhearted people who would rather have illegal pigs than Jesus.

However, there is something else to be gleaned from the story. There is insight into the life of a demon. They were many and therefore “strong”, yet they were confined to living in tombs, among the dead. They didn’t have a dwelling place among the living. Also, we learn that day and night they cry and gash themselves. Obviously, they are in constant pain.

I think they are somewhat like a fish out of water. They were made for heaven but chose a pit. They hate the pit and yet that is all they are suited for now. Therefore they surface into an environment (earth) that is held together by Jesus. That makes the whole world hostile to them. Earth is not comfortable for a demon. This is why we find them among the rocks, less of creation, less of Jesus to witness to them.

Why would they choose to be here? Suffering on earth, with their sworn enemy Jesus, is better than being with their leader in hell.