Why are people the way they are? (Part I)
Matthew 8:34 And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.
Why are people the way they are? I know you’ve asked yourself this question at least once in your lifetime. And surely as you live you will probably ask yourself this question again. You went into a relationship, job, school or church expecting everyone to be “normal” but found out that some folk had some issues that brought sheer chaos to the environment. So why are people the way that they are? Hopefully, this series will shed some light on the subject.
In part one of this series, we are going to look at the incidents surrounding the deliverance of the mad man of the Gaderenes. He was described as a person whom no one could do anything with and greatly feared by all. This fear was to the point that no person could even pass the place in which he dwelled, which happened to be a graveyard.
Jesus then arrives in the region and casts the demons out of him into a herd of swine. The herd then rush down a steep bank into a lake and die, freeing this man to be no longer be tormented by the demons that once possessed him. The ones who were tending to the pigs witnessed all of this and immediately went into town and told all the events to the town’s people. Now what do you think the town’s people did after getting this information? It seems to me they should have celebrated for two reasons. First, they should have celebrated for the man who was no longer tormented by the demons. Second, they should have celebrated for themselves because now they could come and go as they pleased. Instead, they did something that seems strange, yet it gives us a clue as to why people are the way they are. So what did they do? Let’s look at our text to find out.
Matthew 8:34 And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts. (KJ)
You might still be saying, “so what did they do?” Let me give you the NIV version and see if you get it.
Matthew 8:34 Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region. (NIV)
What did they do? They begged Jesus to leave! Not just some of them, but this text tells us “the whole town” begged him to leave. That gives us incite on human behavior, but the sixty four-million dollar question is why? Why are these people the way they are?
To put it simply . . . SOME PEOPLE LIKE THEIR DEMONS AND WANT TO HOLD ON TO THEM! You see, when it comes down to it their demons get the job done for them. They like to manipulate others and they like the power that it gives them especially when the results are favorable. They like using anger against others and will even tell you in a braggadocios way, “You don’t want to see my bad side . . . I don’t take prisoners when I bring out my bad side.” Some want to be conniving and deceitful in business simply to show how smart they are. Sad but true, these examples I have given you have been taken from Christians and not “worldly folk.”
Yes, these examples are from those who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus himself and yet they still hold on to their demons and even give them full reign from time to time. I have even heard one Christian brag about “putting Jesus away long enough to do what they need to do and bring him back after everything that needed to be said was said and all that needed to be done was done.” I am sure that this attitude and the actions that follow brought no glory to the Savior or His sacrifice.
It is our challenge to let our demons go back to the pit of hell from where they came. There is no need to hold on to what is not from heaven nor should we attempt to use what is from the depths of hell. God’s plan is for us to operate on His level and in the manner that is pleasing to him. He sent His son to remove forever the demons that once invaded, infiltrated and infused themselves in our lives. The question now is will we let Jesus remove them or will we refuse to release them. The choice is ours today!
So why do people act the way they do? Some of them just want to hold on to their demons. Remember, some do… But you don’t have to!