24 “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’
Jesus reveals something very important about evil. Evil finds a place and calls it home! Evil gets comfortable when it has a chance to stay for a while. This is true not only when evil is embodied in a demonic spirit as in this passage. The demon leaves home, his home. The Greek of this passage has the word “my” next to the word home. This demon’s dialogue shows his sense of ownership of his former residence. He is going to try to go back to his home and kick up his feet and play Xbox. When evil gets comfortable with us, or should I say we get comfortable with it, we are in trouble. The gradual decline in culture happens slowly over time. When I was young the standards for decency on TV were very different than they are today. Almost anything is acceptable today. It is the slow, gradual acceptance of evil that leads to moral decline. Those backing the gay agenda know this very well. They are slowly pushing for small changes, inclusion of books in elementary school, changes in curriculum, media stories, movie characters, public demonstrations, redefinition of ‘rights’. Each of these small steps has led to our current situation. Abortion acceptance, genetic testing of infants in the womb, manipulation of DNA, selective abortions, rampant greed, the pursuit of the ‘almighty dollar and the American Dream’ have all been steps away from God. Selfishness is never in line with the pursuit of God. The great Christian Revivals of the past had profound impacts on our society. The problem is that the changes made did not pass to the next generations. Too much change was made on the surface without the transformational power of God changing hearts. And each generation must have that transformational heart change for culture to change. If there is going to be a change in culture it will begin with a change in heart brought about by the work of God in individual hearts. The evil in our hearts only stays away when the righteousness of God fills its place in our hearts.
The Arnold Journey 