Peter Witkowski Apologetics

Helping Kids Process Satan and Demons

devils and demons blogDemons are real! The devil is real. And our kids our going to interact with demonic things. I say this not to scare anyone. Nor do I wish to encourage anyone to start mixing up a homemade ghost repellent. But we do need to be aware that our kids will encounter demonic things. Our kids will meet up with other kids who own Ouija Boards, who play with tarot cards, and who know people that talk with spirits. As Paul reminds us in Ephesians 6:12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Satan and his demons will come after us and our kids.

What do we do? How do we prepare our kids to handle the question, “Do you want to come over and play on my Ouija board?” We look to Jesus. And as we study Jesus’ encounter with the demonic man mention in Mark 5:1-20, we 3 see great principles for interacting with the Satan and demonic activity.

1.       Do Not Under Estimate Satan.

Jesus came to seek and to safe the lost. Satan comes to destroy. Even though things like Ouija Boards may seem innocent, we must help our kids understand where these things lead. Look at the man running around the hillside. He was screaming and cutting himself. He had forsaken the town and was living in the tombs. He was cut off from civilization.

If we pursue Satanic things, we will find death. Though tarot cards may seem innocent, we need to help our kids realize that that playing with Satanic things is never good. Though they appear as messengers of light and offer power, demons never lead us to life. They lead only to death and destruction. We must help our kids realize Satan is dangerous and deadly.

2.       Trust in Jesus.

Though Satan and his demons are real and possess great power, we serve one greater, Jesus. When he arrives on the scene the man who could not be bound by chains, throws himself at Jesus’s feet begging for mercy. What the town’s people could not do with chains, Jesus does by simply coming. The demons have to submit to the authority of Christ.

When our kids encounter demonic things, we should encourage them to appeal to Jesus. While our kids should not underestimate Satan, they also should not fear him because Jesus is Lord. And all those who follow Christ cannot fall exclusively under Satan’s power. They cannot become demon possessed. God is for us. Satan cannot win.

 But our kids do not simply have to run away when others mention the demonic realm. Rather, we should encourage our kids to do what Jesus did. We should encourage our kids to share the gospel. The best way to defeat Satan is not to chant some words while wearing a crucifix. The best way to defeat Satan is to present the Word of God. Jesus saves. And it’s quite possible that your kids may get the opportunity to share Christ because a classmate brings up the subject of a Ouija Board. We should encourage our kids to be quick to avoid Satanic activity and to be quick to proclaim Jesus.

3.       Don’t Expect To Be Popular

After Jesus cast out the demons, the towns people come out to see what happened and to see all the dead pigs floating around. And the text records something strange. The people ask Jesus to leave. They people could tolerate a crazed lunatic, but found Jesus scary. If our kids refuse to talk to the dead at a sleep over, they will take some flak. They will be deemed lame. And we must prepare our kids for this reality. We must help them understand that obeying Jesus will not always be popular. But it will always be good. And after all, how can we not obey Jesus? He has far more power than any demon. Instead of playing with allusions of power, we should seek out the one who rules over all principalities and powers. We should trust ourselves to Jesus.

Peter Witkowski Apologetics, Discipleship, Evangelism, Parenting

The Forgotten Culture War

When you hear the term “Culture War” what pops into your mind? Gay activists yelling on the steps of the Supreme Court, Christians praying in front of abortion clinics, or perhaps politicians arguing for the removal of a nativity set? Typically, we don’t think about little Johnny lying to his mom. But, we should.

A World of Lies

Every cultural and spiritual battle is ultimately a battle of truth. Think back to Genesis 3. The snake deceived Adam and Eve. Lying blogSin arrives via the snake’s lie that God is not good. And sin continues to spread via the lie.

We get angry when we pick up another loss in fantasy Football or when our spouse forgets to empty the dishwasher, because we think victory or an empty dishwasher will bring true happiness. For that moment, we believe a lie.

And we spread lies because we don’t want to insult grandma’s cooking or because we don’t want to suffer the penalties that come with embezzling from our boss. We believe that lying will helps us avoid consequences. But it doesn’t because the perfect Judge sees everything and will hold us accountable when he returns.

Not too surprisingly our world which is ruled by the father of lies, Satan, is dominate by liars. Some researchers estimate that 1 in 5 adults are habitual liars. And this is not a new trend for these grownups.  Around 90% of people master the art of deception by the time they turn 4. It turns out that the little white lie is not so little after all. It’s a plague that infests our culture.

Why Kids Lie

As parents, pastors, and lay leaders, we should not be surprised to see kids lie. It happens all the time because most kids are living a lie. Many kids live for good grades, for softball championships, or for having tons of friends. They believe that something other than God can will make them happy. As the apostle Paul wrote, they as are all unrepentant sinners controlled by “deceitful desires” (Eph. 22).

Kids living for a lie will quite naturally be liars. They will lie about report cards and about breaking the lamp. Out of the heart the mouth speaks. When kids have corrupt deceptive hearts, lies will pour out of their mouths. That’s all they know to do.

The solution is truth. First, we have to begin telling the truth. Many kids keep lying long after 4 because their parents lie. “Honey, tell Grandma I’m in the shower.” We have to be faithful truth tellers in our everyday life. Jesus is, “the way the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). To follow him we must proclaim the truth. We must tell others that Jesus is the only way to heaven, and we must take grandma’s phone call.

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. – Eph. 4:25

Next, we have to confront our kid’s lies. Their lies are not cute or insignificant. They may be bizarre. I had a young family member once tell numerous people that Shamu ate him. Please don’t start punishing kids for being fanciful, but do help them understand that such stories are not true. Even at an early age, kids can learn that truth resides in God and cannot be made up. Reality cannot be remade on a preschooler’s whim.  And that which is unnatural cannot be made natural by the Supreme Court. We need to help our kids understand the limits of imagination when confronted with God’s reality.

And lastly, we must discipline our kids for deliberate lies. I lied all the time as a kid, including doctoring my 6th grade math report card for an entire semester. Needless to say my parents were surprised to see that my standardize test ranking was in the 60th percentile. Yeah, turns out all those A’s were not so real after all. I spent the next several summers doing summer school. And as I wrestled with my punishment, I was acutely aware that I was sinner. By punishing me for my lies, my parents took on the lies that were controlling my heart. They showed me that true life and happiness is not found in escaping school work. It’s found in Christ.

By confronting a child’s lie, we can reach past their verbal message to the core of their heart. By championing truth in our homes, we show our kids that they need the savior of truth.

If we want our kids to embrace what the scriptures say about sex, abortion, and money management, we have to affirm truth in our lives and homes. Only truth of Christ can overcome lies of the snake.