Devil of Nothing

Once upon a time…. I don’t now recall if that’s how Michael Ende’s book, The Never-Ending Story, actually began. Ende describes a fantasy world that was slowly dying away. And a boy, transported into this world, restores it to its former splendor. That was the first part of the tale.

What was eating (literally) this world? Ende interestingly called it the Nothing! The only one who can fight the Nothing back was the princess, but she has mysteriously fallen ill. In the meantime, the Nothing was devouring every creature in that world into, precisely nothing.

How was the boy going to save this world? [WARNING: SPOILER] In his acquaintance with various creatures, he learned that the only way to restore everything was to give the princess a new name. Just before the Nothing could finally consume everything, the boy gave her a name and the world was magically restored to its former beauty.

Ende’s captivating magical cosmos is indeed the product of a very creative imagination. But his lessons about the Nothing is something we cannot take casually. The Nothing exists! It is a disease eating away many of the youth’s minds, wills and hearts.

I like to call this vicious moral cancer as the Devil of Nothing.

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The ears of students pop up to attention whenever the word devil is mentioned. Today, thanks to the ministry of many devote and diligent exorcists, people are realistically (vs. superstitiously) factoring in the negative role of the devil in man’s life on earth.

Picture him as you like, with Alighierian features or the more modern Hollywood hyper-representations, but what matters most is that he exists! He diabolically crafts man’s greatest failure in life: to disobey God and not reach Heaven!

Our good Lord, during His public life, taught His apostles that there were different kinds of demons (i.e. powerful Legion, talkative ones, dumb and mute types, violent and powerful types, etc.) and the manner with which these were dealt with and expelled (i.e. prayer, fasting, outright expulsion, etc.). Jesus really made it clear to the devil –and to His disciples– who was BOSS!

So what is the Devil of Nothing? I coined this to describe a very widespread attitude in many young and old people today: doing nothing. Doing nothing can be easily equated to laziness. And fortunately, with God’s help, laziness is a vice that can be conquered.

But I’m referring to a more hidden condition that resides in the will of the person: the inability to incisively and fruitfully address a particular defect or vice after it has been committed. For example, when someone is asked what he did after disobeying his elders, he would reply, ‘Huh… nothing.’ And to another, as to what he did after not paying attention in Mass, ‘Um…I don’t know… Nothing!’

I believe that this state where both young and old are unable to react positively to their falls –by precisely doing nothing– is very well the work of the Devil of Nothing.

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Naturally, this is only my way of describing how today, many seem to be ignorant about how to sportively (as St. Paul described it) carry on with their spiritual life. How would you react if a student who failed his Math long test would decide to do nothing to address his failure? A more natural reaction would be to watch less TV, keep to his schedule, and study more.

Some other examples: after offending a sibling, arguing with parents, disrespecting elders, it be wonderful if one decides not to only say ‘sorry’ but also to impose on oneself more chores, ground himself over the weekend, attend an extra mass during the week, etc. All these demonstrate one’s sincere purpose of amendment and help to carve out his character.

Sadly, the Devil of Nothing continues seeding nothingness in the minds of many. And like our Lord said, this cannot be conquered except through prayer and sacrifice. Prayer: that we personally ‘take up our sins’ before our Lord whom we really offend, and to sincerely ask Him what we can DO about our sins. And sacrifice: which isn’t only to carry out burdensome penances, but rather exert an effort to step on one’s selfishness in order to think more of  others, serve and help them get closer to God.

Prayer becomes a light that makes the temptation of nothingness fade away. Coupled with sacrifice, the ideas and concrete resolutions we saw in prayer are forged and carried out with personal sacrifice. One moves from desire, to resolution and then action. Without sacrifice, our inspirations easily sublimate because they are not put into practice.

Only with the weapons of prayer and sacrifice will we again receive a new name as God’s children. The state of grace and virtues will once again flourish and banish the nothingness in us. In our souls, there once again dwells the presence of Someone, who is our Love.