By

David K. Irwin

One day the devil was utterly bored with his normal routine of demonic intervention and decided to cause some real heartache and pain on a more colossal level. In the twinkling of an eye, he was at a very popular place in a very popular town…your favorite place to be. This place appeared different to everyone who looked upon it and they all saw just what they wanted to see. I saw a beautiful fair with many beautiful exhibits to enjoy.

Suddenly, I came upon the most beautiful exhibit of all with a most elegant man who looked to be intelligent and wise beyond his time. He beckoned me to come closer and see what he had on display. There was a great crowd of people around his display and all seemed to be quite intrigued with what they were seeing so I followed the crowd to the entrance.

After paying his fee, I peered in the door and saw a group of paintings with very familiar, but somehow strange, labels upon them. The labels read: Fear, Malice, Hatred, Envy, Jealousy, Vanity, Deceit and Lying.

As I neared the first picture, Fear, I began to hear comments from the people around me and it struck me as strange that no two people seemed to agree on what they saw. A husband would comment, "Look honey, it's a picture of us in that terrible car wreck we were in last year! I thought we were all going to die.", and the wife would reply, " No, it's a picture of a graveyard and I can see your tomb stone with your name on it." A brother would say to a sister, "Look sis, it's a picture of a dog with rabies. Look at the saliva…it looks as though it's running right out of his mouth!", and the sister would say, "No it's not. It's a picture of a dark and lonely street with no lights and there's an evil man at the end of the street in the shadows…can you see him? He's coming closer!" And each would turn away with dismal and fearful looks upon their faces.

To me there appeared to be a young boy sitting on a dock with his sister swirling their feet in the water washtub style. As I drew closer, I saw the boy fall into the water and suddenly the picture changed and there were bubbles all around the boy. It was as if I could almost feel myself sinking in the water and as the water grew darker I became instantly cold and scared. I quickly looked away. This had actually happened to me when I was six years old and the memory was terrifying. Walking quickly away, I noticed the goose pimples on my arms.

The next picture, Malice, left everyone speechless and after my experience with the first picture, I timidly wondered what could be on the canvas. The unmistakable look of guilt was on the face of each person as they moved away from the picture. Most looked down as if to avoid the gaze of the surrounding people. Many shifted their gaze quickly from one person to the next as if searching the crowd to see if anyone was looking at them.

Finally, my eyes settled nervously on the picture. I saw my sister's wooden doll house which was handmade by our grandfather. Each and every item in it was meticulously placed with tender, loving care. Bed sheets were folded down as if to beckon the dolls to sleep. Dishes were stacked in the dish drainer having served their purpose at the evening meal. The dolls were in various stages of preparation for the last moments of the day before retiring to their designated rooms. Mom in the bathroom brushing her hair, the daughter in her room changing into night clothes and the father doll had a toy pipe in his hand as he sat in front of the fireplace.

Suddenly, as if hit by an earthquake, everything went flying in disarray! Furniture fell, dishes flew and dolls tumbled to the ground. Almost as suddenly, there came into view the figure of a young boy standing beside the doll house. He quickly looked around with a smirk on his face to see if anyone had seen what he had done when he kicked the doll house. At the same time, I looked around to see if anyone was watching me…then I moved on.

Hatred was the title of the next picture and there was quite a ruckus arising from the crowd who seemed to be instantly consumed as if by some sort of fast moving virus which caused great anger. The crowd became agitated, pushing and shoving as they milled around the picture, some pausing and some moving quickly on.

Looking upon this picture I once again saw a young boy. This time he was running in a cold sweat while being chased by another boy who out-weighed him by 30 pounds at least! I could feel his fear! The boy ran and ran until he threw the gate open and entered the supposed sanctuary of his own back yard where his mother stood hanging out clothes to dry. The bully, undaunted by the presence of an adult, followed him in and proceeded to pound on him bloodying his nose and blackening an eye. I could feel the blows as they were delivered. I also felt his fear turn to hate as he lay helplessly pinned under the weight of the larger boy. When the beating was over, the boy, with tears in his eyes, looked at his mother who said, "What did you do to deserve that?". I felt the hatred shift its attention from the bully to the mother.

Shamefully, I angrily pushed my way through the crowd to get away from this awful memory.

At this point, I didn't want to continue with the tour any longer and looked about for the exit. There was no exit and there was no way I was going back through the previous pictures. Who knows what kind of horrors one might see the second time they looked upon one those atrocities. So I continued on with the tour through purgatory.

The remaining pictures evoked varied reactions of fear, embarrassment, anger, guilt and remorse from the viewers. Each was having to deal with their own personal vendettas within their mind. The overall reaction of the crowd was one of growing uneasiness as if wishing to be anywhere other than here.

After the last picture there was a door and with a sigh of relief I quickly headed for what I naturally assumed was the exit to this hell on earth. Much to my dismay, I entered into another room. Quite a large room as a matter of fact and it was a good thing too since a large crowd had gathered in this room. They all stared incredulously at a picture titled DISCOURAGEMENT.

Slowly and cautiously I made my way through the crowd. The picture flickered with light as though I was looking at one of those old, old films where the frames moved so slow they almost seemed to flash from one to the other. I moved closer and closer until I could see the picture clearly.

I watched, in awe, as event after event in my life appeared on the canvas.

Flash

The first test I failed.

Flash

The big fish I lost as a child.

Flash

All the girls and women I ever asked out who turned me down appeared one after the other as if to weaken my very soul.

Flash

All the times I tried to quit smoking and failed appeared and with them came the equivocal uncertainty of ever being successful.

Flash

Now my inability to quit drugs flashed recurring episode after episode and then my problems with gambling flashed scene after scene as my spirit plummeted lower and lower.

Flash

On and on it went…and even though I knew in my heart I had conquered many of these experiences during my life, my very being seemed to be sinking into an abyss from which there seemed to be no hope of ever leaving. I seemed to be spiraling downward as if caught in a whirlpool…I was literally being sucked dry of all hope. Unavoidable and inevitable doom seemed to be closing down upon me as if I were in a tomb and the door was slowly shutting out the light of the world forever. My legs suddenly felt as though they would collapse with the burden and my knees began to shake.

Doubt, fear, anxiety, helplessness and hopelessness pummeled my very soul. My inner sense of being seemed to be floating away as if in a swirl of fire and smoke. And a noxious cloud of smoke it was for suddenly I felt weak and queasy as my stomach started to knot in the pre-vomit throws which bring on that cold sweat we all know so well.

It was all I could do to tear my eyes from that wretched painting. In a panic I looked once again for the exit from this house of horrors. When I finally spotted it, I had to coax my legs into moving at first since they were so weak. Soon however, I was soon in a dead run. Once outside, I sucked in air with a great gush as if I were a new-born child and began to cry. Some of the tears were for me and some for the many people I somehow knew would never leave that last room…!!!

From that day on there was a fable (for people preferred to believe that it never really happened). It goes like this:

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The devil once placed his tools on display.

Among them were some labeled fear, malice, hatred, envy, jealousy, vanity, deceit, and lying.

A very special place was given, however, to one called DISCOURAGEMENT.

The devil explained, "This is the most useful tool I have. It is worth more than all the others put together."

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Satan still owns and uses this tool!

The answer to discouragement is to receive the Master's encouragement.