Our mood, insecurities, conflicts, hostilities, and anger do not drop off our shoulders as we enter through our Church doors. They enter the house of God with us, and because evil is often behind such feelings, one might as well be rolling out the red carpet to Satan, inviting him in, as he most assuredly does not jump off our back and stand on the porch waiting to catch a ride back home with us as we exit. The view that evil cannot enter a church is a Hollywood-created perception.  Jesus tells us that “the gates of hell shall not prevail” against the Church (Matt 16:18); this doesn’t mean that evil doesn’t make attempts to destroy what belongs to our Holy Father. Any demonic influence affecting us prior to Church is in Church with us, like mud on our shoes. Its presence blocks our communion with God and quite often negatively impacts the lives of other members of the congregation.

And, evil spreads like wildfire. We can all recall a time when evil came for a visit in our home. Mom got angry; then dad went off on a tirade; and predictably, brother and sister were soon caught up in the malevolent cloud while the evil one and his minions, well, they rolled on the grown in laughter, delighting in the show of hatred and conflict expressed by those “made in the image of God.”

Make no mistake about it; evil is real; it is a constant threat to any community, and particularly the Christian community.

“Our world is guided by two principles and sources: God and the devil. All that is   better in the world of men has its source in God, and all that is bad has the devil as its principle and source. In the final account, all good comes from God, and all evil from the devil” (St. Justin Popovich, Explanation of I John 3:11).

Any minister, priest, reverend that consigns demonic influence, oppression, and possession to a conceptual relic of the past is courting danger not only toward himself but especially toward his flock, as one cannot fight or defend against something not viewed as real.

But the church leader may not be the only one that is impervious to a church under attack; parishioners, particularly the internally focused “church socializers” are generally not open to anyone interfering with their social intercourse with other members. It’s time to talk about me, and me, and me some more. After all, “I love me more than anyone, including You, God”. Such individuals are incapable of discerning any force among them as they are mentally locked in the material world of scoring kudo points.

Then there are the externally focused socializers that forego the opportunity to self-elevate their pseudo-greatness but choose instead to engage in the character assassination of their fellow Christian brothers and sisters, inciting gossip, in the hope of feeling better about their own inadequacies. And again, Satan is enjoying the floor show, marveling at how easy it is for him to influence their emotions and behavior while in God’s Holy Temple.

On the flip side, there will be those that can and do perceive and discern the dark cloud hanging over the congregation, that recognize the Church is under attack; but they often fear being ostracized or labeled “unstable,” or plain out “crazy” if they say anything. Just think about it. How does one walk up to the minister and say, “Sir, we’re under attack; I just wanted to let you know that, ok?” Sure! That will go over well…not!

Even if the discussion occurs, the outcome will depend on how the pastor views the existence of diabolic forces. Inexperienced ministers are more likely to attribute claims of evil to mental illness in the person, something the devil is counting on. Or, they may react prematurely and attribute a mental illness to demonic influence when the so -called “discerner” really is ill. A second consequence to discussing the big evil elephant staring at the altar is that the tattle teller may be subjected to attacks not only from unenlightened and oppressed parishioners but also by the demons that need to remain invisible to do their work. In many ways, the one discerning the evil is forced to endure a type of psychological martyrdom and are at great risk of attrition from the Church.

In Hollywood, demonic forces do not enter Churches, but in your and my world they are invited in by Christians themselves who cling to conflict and discord in their relationships within their personal or Church family.

“God and the devil are found at opposite poles. No one can turn his face to God who has not first turned his back on sin. When a man turns his face to God, all of his paths lead to God. When a man turns his face away from God, all of his paths lead to perdition. When a man finally rejects God by word and in his heart, he is no longer fit to do anything that does not serve for his complete destruction, both of his soul and of his body” (St. Nicholas of Serbia, Thoughts on Good and Evil).

Though it is often hard to let go of conflict, even when we earnestly want to, we must remember that Satan is the master craftsman of sinful behavior, psychological pain, and hostile emotional states. Of course, not all sin is generated by the evil one; man does this quite well on his own. Likewise, negative emotions are often consequential to internal and external circumstances in our world. Anger or sadness caused by a verbal attack, for example, is a legitimate response. Accept it and then let it go. Nurturing it, allowing it to grow, only lures darkness into our lives, and believe me, the devil will kick you when you’re down. Negative attitudes, conflict, and resentment tend to attract evil because these emotions keep us distant from God.

This brings me to another important point, conflict between brothers and sisters in Christ can devastate lives and potentially block members’ salvation through their loss of faith in the Church. The Church as hospital becomes the Church as mortuary resulting in the loss of individual salvation. Open resentment and hostility toward other church members is a serious problem with grave consequences. It is not to be treated lightly, or worse yet, ignored.

At a minimum, it can split Church membership, triangulate members, and lead to a loss of membership. After all, if Christians cannot act Christian, why fellowship with them? It seems easier to just walk away from such an environment. Indeed, walking away may be the only way to avoid further damage. Think about it. If one walks into a Church with dreaded anticipation of being met with hostility or rejection (like the young child dreading school because of a bully) it becomes difficult to maintain the belief that the Church is the place where Christ resides.

Another noteworthy thought concerns our own future judgement. How many of us will have to stand before God on Judgement Day and answer Him when He asks, “Why did you drive away your brother?” or “Why did you not rebuke those who drove out My child from My home?”

The bottom line is that WE ARE part of the problem if we do not confront evil in the presence of our home, in our community, and most certainly in our Church. On a group level, conflict and hostility among members must be worked through with the guidance of the priest, reverend, preacher, minister who must openly communicate with the parties in private communication and in group communication if required.

On a personal level, we can help as well. The best way to do this is to show humility and respect toward our Church family as we would with our personal family. Since humility and respect are incompatible with evil, they are the best defense as they act like a protective shield we can use to protect ourselves and our brothers and sisters in Christ.

With all your power, ask the Lord for humility and brotherly love, because God freely gives His grace for love towards one’s brother. Do an experiment on yourself: one day ask God for love towards your brother, and another day – live without love. You will see the difference (St. Silouan the Athonite, Writings, XVI.8)

In short, we need to make a conscious effort to put aside our negative thoughts and emotions before entering Church. If we are not capable of this, perhaps we should stay home. By shaking off the evil one and slamming the door in his face, we will not extend an invitation for him to come in and create his havoc. Unimpeded, the congregation will grow spiritually strong and be able to present a united front against the wiles of the devil.