The Exorcist's Bestiary

As my participant sat with the Holy Spirit during a deliverance session, I asked a simple question: “Are we dealing with a demon problem here?” The same answer came back clear in every single session I did with them: “They are dealing with a sin problem.”

Now that’s not to say that there weren’t demons involved in some way, but to blame demons for this or that was to offset responsibility. When we sin, the blame rests on us. Regardless of any spiritual warfare we’re dealing with, no one is so oppressed that they have no choice but to sin. Sure, the drive to sin may feel heavier or more compulsive under the weight of demonic voices and the entanglement of their lies, but with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can overcome any temptation that comes our way, as God patiently walks with us to do so.

There’s a religious saying you may have heard before: “God won’t give you more than you can handle.” While it sounds encouraging, this is a flawed spin on 1 Corinthians 10:13. Listen carefully to what Scripture actually says:

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

The idea that “God won’t give you more than you can handle” is flawed for several reasons. For one, it makes it seem as if God is responsible for everything that happens to us, including our worst moments. For two, it belittles the suffering we’re going through. And for three, there are many experiences in this world that are, in fact, more than we can handle. For example, if someone is murdered, then they were given more than they could handle.

What the original passage says is far more empowering than the demeaning catchphrase we’ve turned it into. Paul wants us to know that when we specifically face temptation, we are not helpless. That’s not to say that it won’t be hard to overcome, but we are always able to overcome. There is no temptation we will face that is somehow an all-new form of temptation that’s never been faced before. AI may be able to satisfy one’s lust in a new way, but it’s just the same old lust in a new form. Jesus lived a fully human life and didn’t sin, and now he has given us the Holy Spirit, who will help us not to sin as well. God has not put us in situations where we have to choose the sin that demons guide us toward; rather, Christians have been put in a situation where we always have the option to choose the life-giving path that the Holy Spirit guides us toward.

Though it sometimes feels untrue in the heat of the moment, sin is not so strong that you must do it. I had fallen for that lie in my own life for a long time, and after I stood up to it and recognized that the Spirit was saying something different, I began to overcome the sins that had long been plaguing me.

We can analyze the spiritual warfare we’re facing to help us strategize how to overcome temptation, but we cannot go so far as to absolve ourselves of our actions by placing them on demons. We are responsible for our alignment with sin. Recognizing the presence of a generational demon might help us understand why we are facing an age-old issue in the family, but it is only still present in us because we have listened to it like our family before us did. May we break free of its bonds by recognizing that we no longer have to choose it and by setting our eyes on the Holy Spirit’s way of escape.