Satan's Garage Sale

Once upon a time, Satan was having a garage sale. He had tools that made it easy to tear others down; there were lenses for magnifying ones own importance and for diminishing others. Against the wall was the usual assortment of gardening implements guaranteed to help one’s pride grow – the rake of scorn, the shovel of jealousy for digging a pit for one’s neighbor and the tools of gossip, selfishness and apathy.

All the tools were attractively constructed and came complete with guarantees of prosperity. Prices, of course, were steep; but not to worry! Free credit was extended to one and all. “Take it home, use it and you won’t have to pay until later!” old Satan cried, as he hawked his wares.

A visitor would also notice two well worn, non-descript tools standing in one corner. People often questioned why these items were higher priced than the others. They certainly appeared older and even a bit tattered. Satan would just laugh and answer, “Well, that’s because I use them so much. If they weren’t so plain looking, people might see them for what they were.” Satan pointed to the two tools, saying, “You see, that one’s Doubt and that one’s Discouragement—and those will work when nothing else will.” (author unknown)

Doubt and Discouragement – indeed powerful tools to bury us in anxiety, to weigh us down with feelings of helplessness – to place us on the desert with only the blistering sun as our guide and nourishment. In the dramatic gospel account of the man tortured by a legion of demons, we are touched by the mercy of our Lord. For years this tortured man had lived in the putrid tombs—-small caves in the side of a hill. In his misery he had cried out day and night and ripped at his flesh with stones. With the authority of love, Jesus freed the man by sending his demons into the swine.

But this was not the desired outcome for the owners of the 2000 swine. In minutes their livelihood was brutally wiped out. “And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the lake, and were drowned in the lake.” Shocked, angered, and afraid these men “begged him to leave their neighborhood.”

Who wouldn’t be distraught with the bizarre destruction of one’s livelihood? Yet, like us, these men, lost all perspective. The moment’s tragedy precluded them from recalling God’s faithfulness in the past and his promise to love them into the future. Doubt and discouragement narrowed their memory; they forget God’s faithfulness and allowed the moment to become their despairing destiny.

Today pray for perspective. Our Lord who delivered you from previous difficulties is the same loving God who so desires your peace and fulfillment. Hold to this thought and walk step by step confident that good times will return. Kathleen M. Sullivan ’82MA ’87PhD