The Voice Of The Shadows

Satan has been called a snake. Better he had been called a chameleon. For Satan is never quite the same from moment to moment, but changes his colors according to circumstances. How Satan appears to us will then be at least in part a function of how we have responded to the choices set before us. If we drift with the collective roles and expectations, or yield to regressively instinctual behavior, or are caught in egocentric strategies for self-aggrandizement without reference to the whole, or actually opt for what we know to be wrong, we augment Satan’s power as a force for evil. We reinforce the sheer bulk of collective unconsciousness and shadow that presses down on events, and help to set off a train of consequences that can only wreak evil on ourselves and others. If, however, we respond to choice with a conscious commitment to creative transformation, if we use the encounter with the voice of the shadows as an occasion for self-discovery and pruning, if we are willing to risk the uncertain path of seeking God’s will, and to allow our egos to undergo the mortification necessary to allow the greater self to emerge, then Satan appears as God’s Servant, and even our mistakes and wrong choices can become the catalysts of our transformation (Romans 8:28).

—Walter Wink, Unmasking The Powers: The Invisible Forces That Determine Human Existence

The above is a mouthful and I have some issues with it. I prefer to speak of the satan without personalizing it or according it a gender. That said, I love this passage and especially enjoy thinking and speaking of the satan as “the voice of the shadows.”

Speaking of the satan in this way helps me avoid projection and regressively instinctual behaviors that can get me into trouble and render me a threat to myself and others. James Carse says “Evil is never intended as evil—Indeed the contradiction inherent in all evil is that it originates in the desire to eliminate evil.” When I place Carse next to Wink in my mind, I get to thinking that the satan might also name a misplaced desire for control, a desire to correct. Maybe the satan is the impulse to play hall monitor or editor or commander in other people’s lives. Perhaps that impulse arises out of the perceived need to fend off certain memories and realizations. Memories of pain, for instance.

The above image captures some of what Wink is up to in his consideration of the satan. He’s really great for analyzing and helping us think through how it is that people become a terror to themselves and others while imagining they’re fulfilling God’s will. He says this process often begins when people substitute activity for relationship. I believe he’s right.

More on Wink here.

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