Beware of the Dark Side

[Mark H. Stevens, Th.D]

In the Star Wars saga there are good guys, the Jedi and their allies, and the bad guys, the Sith and their allies. Ironically, both the Jedi and the Sith draw inspiration from the same source, the immaterial, immanent Force. So when the Jedi bless each other with "May the Force be with you," it's really a qualified greeting, "May the Force be with you, just so long as it's not the dark side."
The Jedi knight is not immune from the dark side of the Force. Not only is the Jedi at risk of being killed by a Sith lord, but also of being seduced by the dark side of the Force. This latter threat is particularly acute for younger Jedi, young men like Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker.

Mature Jedi masters, folks like Obi Wan Kenobi and Yoda, continually warn their younger colleagues about the danger of the dark side of the Force, especially the danger of being seduced by its power. What can turn a Jedi from the light side to the dark side of the Force? It's largely a matter of negative feelings: anger, hatred, jealousy, fear, and a passion for power. If a Jedi indulges these feelings too regularly, he or she might be sucked into the dark side.

Though the situation of a Christian isn't exactly the same as that of a Jedi, there are many similarities. We who serve God by God's own power are often tempted to abandon God's ways and replace them with the ways of this world. Behind these, of course, we find the one Jesus refers to as "the ruler of this world" (e.g. John 12:31), none other than Satan himself.

In one of the classic stories from the New Testament gospels, Jesus was tempted by what we might call "the dark side." After his baptism he went into the wilderness for forty days in order to fast and pray. There he was tempted by the devil. The first temptation was to use his miraculous power for personal gain, specifically to satisfy his physical hunger. The second temptation was glory and power. If only Jesus would worship Satan, then Jesus would be glorified by humankind (rather than spat upon and crucified). The third temptation was to test God so that Jesus might prove his identity as the Son of God. Yet in each case, Jesus spurned the temptation. He refused to compromise his calling, or to choose the easy path of glory and gain.
A detail from Sandro Botticelli's "Temptation of Christ and Purification of the Leper" in the Sistine Chapel (c. 1481).

What is striking about the three temptations is that what Satan offered was, in a sense, only good and laudable things. In reference to the first temptation, we recognize that food is a good thing. God feeds us, supplying daily bread as a part of his gracious provision. Jesus Himself, later in His ministry, miraculously multiplies bread in order to feed the multitudes. With regard to temptation number two, we acknowledge that it would be wonderful for Jesus to have all glory and authority. In fact, someday He will receive these very things. And with respect to the third temptation, it is surely true that one day Jesus will be recognized by all creation as the Son of God. So the things the devil offered Jesus weren't wrong in and of themselves (like murdering innocent people, for example). In fact, they were good things, things Jesus was right to desire. The problem wasn't the ends, but the means.

Satan offered Jesus apparent shortcuts to what He would one day receive: satisfaction, glory, authority, fame. Jesus, however, choose what seemed to be the long way around, the way of sacrifice, suffering, humility, servanthood, and anonymity. He gave up easy glory for the sake of eternal glory.

As a Christian, and especially as a Christian leader, I have felt similar temptations, though to my knowledge I've never had a direct encounter with Satan (thank God!). Let me offer one example. Twenty years ago I was serving as the Director of College Ministries at the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood. I enjoyed my work, though the group was fairly small and not altogether responsive to my leadership. I was making somewhere around $22,000 a year, which wasn't a bad salary in 1985, but wasn't anything to brag about. Nevertheless, I felt quite sure that I was where God wanted me to be.

Then, out of the blue, I had a private meeting with a prominent Christian leader. He wanted me to join his ministry. The position he offered would mean lots of public recognition, rather a fast track to glory. Plus he offered to double my current salary. In many ways it looked like a fantastic opportunity. There was only one small problem: my conviction that God wanted me to be the College Director at Hollywood Pres. Yet I was tempted, very tempted, to "serve the Lord in this exciting new area." As I talked it over with my wife, and as I prayed about it, I became convinced that what was being offered to me, though surely a good thing for somebody, was wrong for me. So in obedience to God, but with lots of ambivalence, I turned down the offer.

Looking backwards, there is no doubt in my mind that I did the right thing. What I faced was either a temptation (from Satan) or testing (from God) or something in middle (whatever that might be). By God's grace I was able to reject the lure of fame and fortune, and I'm glad I did. Yet that experience helped me to realize how vulnerable I am to taking short cuts, to putting my personal ambition above serving the Lord.

What if I had chosen the wrong path? Who knows? I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have become a Sith lord. But I expect I would have encountered some unhappy twists and turns in the path of my life as God graciously worked to get me back on track.

[RevZ62]

First:
You a not a fan of Star Wars if you were a reader and not just a looker at the movies you would know that Jedi philosophy has advanced to acknowledge that there is no light or darkside. Also the universe of force users includes many others like the Witches of Dathomar, and animals like the voxin used by the Yuuzan Vong in the war with the Republic galaxy. Also that midi-chorians create the symbiotic connection to the Force.
All of these and a few others I probably missed give a different interpretation to the Force.
There is a book written on the religion mainly Christianity in Star Wars. A fellow preacher and fan have spent much time discussing the merits of Star Wars.

Second:
Thanks for the sermon. In what you have noted about the temptations in the dessert.

Third:
I think of Hollywood Pres. as a hospital off Sunset I did not know of a church known by the same name.
It is good you followed God so many do not. It is so good you have a partner who hears what you hear. That is evenly yoked.

Your use of the analogy worked as far as it went.

Be Blessed.
(forgive any spelling errors in Star Wars names.)