Have you encountered evil?

Is evil a “being,” a feeling, some personification of everything dark and corrupt in the world?

Some call it the devil.

Some call it Satan.

How do you know it? For me, it ‘s just simpler to call it the Devil.

I have had several acute experiences with evil and, may I say, with Evil.

In the fiction world Stephen King excels at weaving evil into plot line. In particular, his book Needful Things shows how the most innocent, kindliest of persons among us can commit dastardly deeds in order to obtain a simple heart’s desire.

While evil has an agent by the name of Leland Gaunt,  his victims encounter evil in their own true nature: How far will I go to get what I want?

The Bible, both Old and New Testaments—does not offer one single, neatly worked-out doctrine of Satan. The imagery that we can find develops from the Hebrew Bible into the New Testament, and Revelation gathers several strands into an extraordinarily vivid cosmic drama.

The mid-century Christian writer C.S. Lewis understood something important about our fascination with Satan.

He warned against two opposite mistakes: refusing to believe in the reality of evil at all, and becoming so fascinated by evil that evil itself becomes the center of our attention.

Both mistakes are possible.

As for me, I encountered a presence of evil several times over a lifetime. One was especially vivid.

I was looking for a home that would accommodate my mother and me. She was growing more infirm, and we needed to be under one roof.

While touring the leading prospect, I noticed the master bedroom was a couple of steps below the main level. The agent motioned for me to go first.

Before moving, I scanned the interior with one sweeping glance, observing how dark it was, how ponderous was the heavy wooden furniture, and how off-putting were the twin six-foot-tall suits of armor flanking the kind-sized bed.

Wishing to move on, I raised a foot–but before my foot touched the step I felt a force. That’s the best description. A force, an impediment, that kept me from entering the room.

Message received. I quickly pivoted and headed back. The real estate salesperson was perplexed. I offered a weak smile paired with “Gotta go.”

I believe with all certainty that something extremely wicked had occurred in that space. It wasn’t safe, not even then nor for me. But I was spared by the spirit of God tapping the brakes for me.

That was a close encounter with whatever we call evil. What about you? Any encounters? Experiences? Close calls?  I would love to hear from you.

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