“Lessons in Demon House Hunting”
EPISODE 11
Replace Bad Habits with Good Ones
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Have you ever noticed that when you tell yourself not to do something, it tends to backfire? The bug bite you try not to scratch, the blemish you try not to look at, the thought you try not to think. The more you fight it, the stronger the pull! Why is that?
Jesus tells a strange parable about an evicted demon that offers a solution. This unclean spirit had a home in some demon-possessed person, and then he left and wandered wearily through the desert (Matt. 12:43).
"Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order" (Matt. 12:44).
This demon, like the evil opposite of the prodigal son, decided things weren't so bad where he came from, and maybe he should go back (cf. Luke 15:11-32). Demons like a clean house. It was so lovely, he invited seven of his closest demon friends to move in with him, and as Jesus says, "the last state of that person is worse than the first" (Matt. 12:45).
When you want to sell your house, you clean up the place and make it attractive for a prospective new resident. Jesus describes a person who straightened up his space and made it inviting but never chose a new resident. He kept it orderly, but empty, never moving Jesus and his teachings in!
Removing & Replacing
Don't just cut out the bad. Replace the bad! When you go on a diet, if you repeat to yourself, "I'm not going to eat candy" with no plan for what you will eat, you set yourself up for failure. In the same way, aiming to surgically remove evil is not enough. We need to overcome evil with good (Rom. 12:9, 21). Paul specifies a replacement habit for the ones he wants the Ephesians to give up: Stop lying, and start truth-telling; stop stealing, and start working hard to share with others; stop talking garbage, and start speaking grace (Eph. 4:25-32).
Spare time gets filled with something. Rather than just freeing up time by eliminating unfruitful activities, replace the activities. Rather than just scolding yourself for thinking a lousy thought, actively pursue good ones (Phil. 4:8).
Cleansing & Creating
After David's sin with Bathsheba, he made two requests of God. First, he asked God to cleanse, washing away his sins (Psalm 51:1-9). When I have sinned, at times, I have stopped with this request for forgiveness, but David knows he needs to go further. He asks God to create something new in him (Psalm 51:10). Using the same word that describes God's acts of creation in Genesis, David says, "Create in me a clean heart." Washing the guilt of sin from your heart isn't enough. You need to replace it with a new kind of spirit.
May our God forgive us and fill us with himself.
