Beware of the dumb devil

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

THAT gospel episode of Christ casting out a dumb devil reminds us that we have to be wary when we keep critical and negative thoughts in our mind and heart, allowing them to fester to such an extent that we cannot anymore have any positive and constructive thought about something or someone. (cfr. Lk 14,11-23)

To counter this, we should try to enter into a dialogue first with God in our prayer and then with all the parties involved in any issue. This means that we should try to be open, sincere and transparent in sorting out whatever problem we have, always relying on the belief and hope that God will always help, that with him everything will work out for the good.

And with the other parties involved, we should just present our side as well as listen to theirs, and see how things can be resolved peacefully and satisfactorily. Of course, in this dialogue, we should follow Christ’s way of presenting the truth and our views always with charity, which can mean that in the worst scenario, we, like Christ, would just allow ourselves to suffer for whatever unfairness may come about.

It’s when we go to God first whenever we have this kind of predicament that we can manage to overcome the tricks of the dumb devil, that is, when we can talk and start the process of having a dialogue that eventually will lead to some resolution of any problem or issue we have.

In this regard, we need to see to it that we are most aware of a persona-non-grata that is called pride. We should keep it at bay, exerting appropriate effort to resist its many strong impulses and urges.

Pride always spoils dialogue. It feeds on our self-interest to the point of making us deaf and blind to the points, let alone, the valid points, of the others. It usually sources its strength more from feelings than from reason, more from our own estimation of things than from faith that gives us the full picture of things and leads us to the common good.

Besides, pride usually has bad manners and employs bad language. It always tries to dominate the conversation, using bullying tactics. It is more interested in scoring more points than in earnestly looking for what is true and fair. Its logic clearly follows the path of selfishness. Charity is a complete stranger in pride. Suffering and humiliations play no positive role in pride.

When one, for example, is accused falsely of something, pride would lead him to react very badly, and even violently. He cannot stand being misjudged and mistreated. His pride-stained sense of justice would immediately give a knee-jerk response along the lines of the tooth-for-a-tooth law of the wild.

Pride leads one to see things superficially. There is no depth in its considerations. It gets entangled in the externals and in the appearances. Besides, it usually assumes a rigid attitude, unable to be flexible and to adapt to different circumstances. It makes a person one-track-minded. A proud person is always closed-minded.

We have to be extremely conscious of the workings of pride in us, because it is so embedded in our systems that we often would not know we are being victimized by it. A saint once said that pride is so strongly incorporated in our life that it would only disappear twenty-four hours after our death.

We need to be humble to allow the spirit of God, which is the spirit of truth, justice and mercy, to enter into our hearts, enabling us to engage in a fruitful dialogue.

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com