Two Ways to Resist Evil
Mark Twain said, "I
deal with temptation by yielding to it." Oscar Wilde, and later Bob Hope, said,
"I can resist anything but temptation." How do you deal with temptation?
We all know that Satan feels around the rim of our souls, looking for the
weakest areas in which to attack each one of us. He wants to trap and destroy
us. How can we fight him?
Ancient stories about the sirens in the treacherous waters of the
Strait of Messina remind us of two ways.
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Straight of Messina
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Straight of Messina
Aerial View
The legendary strait separates Sicily from mainland Italy and joins the
Tyrrhenian and Ionian seas. About twenty miles long, its width varies from ten
miles in the south to two miles in the north. The currents, whirlpools and
winds of the strait have hampered navigation for centuries and gave rise to the
Greek legends of the monster Scylla, who devoured sailors from a rock on the
Italian shore, while another, Charybdis, created a whirlpool on the Sicilian
side which sank ships. But getting past them was the easy part.
In Greek mythology, half-woman, half-bird creatures known as sirens lived on a
rocky island nearby and sang melodies so alluring that sailors passing by could
not resist them. Following the music, the sailors would either crash their
boats on the rocks or jump overboard to swim to them. Either way, they were
doomed.
There are two stories of men successfully resisting the sirens. In The Odyssey,
Odysseus ordered his men to tie him to the ship's mast and put beeswax in their
ears so they could not hear the sirens' music. He kept his ears open so he
could hear the enchanting sound. Once he did, he struggled desperately to get
free and begged his men to untie him. They rowed on until they were safely out
of hearing.
Jason and the Argonauts found another way. They had a talented musician,
Orpheus, on board. He sang loudly and played on his lyre, and his music
countered the ravishing strains of the bird-women. His song was so beautiful
that the sirens' song seemed to the men almost harsh and shrill in comparison.
A carnal Christian struggles and struggles against sin like Odysseus, enticed
and attracted by the music of the world's sirens. He often fails to overcome
them.
A Spirit-filled believer hears the sirens' song but, like the Argonauts,
chooses to listen to sweeter music. His ear is attuned to something which makes
anything the world has to offer seem ugly in comparison.
The voice from the cloud gave us our Orpheus. It said, "This is my Son. Listen
to him!"
Gary Williams
Florence Bible School
Italy