26 June | Youth
«Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!» Isaiah 5:20
A few years ago, a hooded robber armed with explosives broke into a bank in the city of Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, taking four hostages for six days. He demanded millions in cash, a car and free access to leave the country. Furthermore, he asked that one of the country's biggest criminals be released to join him. After long negotiations and courageous police intervention, the two criminals surrendered, and the hostages were released.
However, something strange happened. The hostages refused to leave before the criminals, afraid that the police would harm them. They stated that the kidnappers treated them well during those days and that they even played cards together. After hugging the kidnappers in “goodbye,” one of the hostages began to defend them in court. This attitude of sympathy, friendship and even love for aggressors became known as “Stockholm Syndrome,” a term coined by Swedish psychologist Nils Bejerot.
This story makes me think that, from a spiritual point of view, many people find themselves in the same situation. We live on a planet that is in Satan’s hands, an evil kidnapper who still holds billions of prisoners in sin. The problem is that many of these hostages do not want to leave prison and, worse, maintain emotional ties with evil. Many people today are in love with terror, violence, occultism, immorality and other rubbish offered by the architect of evil. Without realizing it, they “play cards” with their own enemy.
French philosopher Michel Onfray, known for promoting hedonism and atheism, interprets current society as follows: “We either subscribe to no values or too many values. […] We call everything good and well, even the bad. We call everything beautiful, even the ugly. The real seems less real than the virtual; fiction replaces reality; history and memory seem irrelevant to the present moment, disconnected from the past, and unrelated to the future” (A Hedonist Manifesto: The Power to Exist, p. 29).
Have you noticed how our world is upside down? Do not allow Satan to confuse your mind. Do not play with terror. Do not flirt with the kingdom of shadows. Seek God for wisdom to discern what is good and bad, right and wrong, light and darkness.