Fighting Demons #1
The War No One Talks About: Pleasure, Purpose, and the Fight for Your Soul
This segment is not about fighting pleasure or rejecting the gifts of life — for what is life without its gifts?
It is about becoming equipped for the battle against evil — the demons of disorder — so that we might restore order amidst the chaos.
By reframing our perspective on pleasure and uncovering its true purpose, we can learn to truly enjoy life as it was meant to be lived: freely, gratefully, and in harmony with God.
Food was given to us as a vehicle for energy, and it carries flavor and satiety as a gift.
It is in this spirit that food should be consumed: eat when you are hungry — but only enough to sustain your labor. Any more, and we begin eating for pleasure, the joy we seek becomes lost in craving, and satisfaction is consumed by scarcity.
It takes very little to feed the stomach, but entire markets to sustain the glutton.
This is true not only of food, but of many passions. Their flavor is often mistaken for their purpose.
Misused Passions and Their Purpose
Lust is fed by fantasy. But the true purpose of sex is reproduction — which brings the gift of holy joy and envelops us in a blanket of ecstasy, shielding us from the chill of the night until the rising of the sun.
Pride is fed by vainglory. But the true purpose of glory is humility and thanksgiving — which opens within us a wellspring of awe, and draws tears from the deep pool of gratitude in the soul.
Despair is fed by self-loathing. But the true target of loathing is evil, not the self. Righteous hatred of evil brings clarity to the soul, and an unseen growth greater than any visible progress the world could offer.
Laziness is fed by inaction. But the true purpose of stillness is spiritual contemplation — which feeds the soul and delivers the gift of deep rest and divine illumination. From this rest arises strength: the soul is emboldened, joy is awakened in the mundane, and the Kingdom of Heaven is glimpsed even in the heart of Hell.
The Demonic Strategy
The demons replace obedience with self-serving. They tempt us to prioritize flavor over function, pleasure over purpose.
And when we pursue flavor alone, the senses of our flesh grow dull and tolerant. Then we need more. Always more.
But when we resist them — when we return to nature and put obedience before pleasure — our hearts remain soft. The gates of the soul stay open. We become ready to receive the gifts of life in their purest form.
The Favorite Lie of the Demons
To justify their whisperings, the demons use a famous deception:
“Life is short — enjoy it while you can.”
It’s a partial truth, weaponized for disorder. The demons take what is true, wrap it in sweetness, and turn it into poison.
Those who identify with the flesh cling to a world that is dying.
But those who live by the Spirit cling to what is eternal — and in that Spirit, they receive everlasting joy, beauty, wisdom, and love.
The soul fills with these gifts — and from the heart, it floods into the body. Like an ocean pressed through a small vessel, it overwhelms us. It floods the mind with light, bends the knees, trembles the bones, and spills from the eyes in tears of joy. No worldly pleasure can compare.
Reflections
What should someone that attempts to make this change, expect?
They should expect suffering. At first, there will be no joy — only dryness and temptation. The beginning of holiness is not unlike the training of a world-class athlete or the sacrifice of a business founder. The labor is relentless. The rewards, unseen.
But once the forest has been burned, once the body and mind have been broken open and offered to God, new growth begins.
So feed the fire. Withstand the burn. Then run toward the Sun of Righteousness and dive into the waters of grace, that new life may spring forth from the arid soil of your dying flesh.
What is the difference between holy joy and demonic pleasure?
Holy joy is best seen in the poor — in those who expect nothing, and hope only in God.
Demonic pleasure is found in those who have everything, and mistake gifts for guarantees.
If demonic pleasure feels good and has gotten me this far, is it actually demonic?
The goal of the demons is disorder — to pour enough entropy into the world that the cosmos collapses and Judgment comes.
Even pleasure, if it leads to disorder, is a tool of the enemy. Ask yourself: is this pleasure bringing order, love, and humility to my life?
If not, it is moving you away from your true nature. And any movement away from the truth is toward destruction.
Meditate on this.
Then choose to be filled—
not with indulgence,
but with the eternal food
that leads to Life.