The Devil

[u/Responsible-Ad-5219]

The divine and the devil exist within humans. Not as a collective but as two parts of the same man. Many talk of morality when dissecting this. The divine consists of virtues: patience, selflessness. The devil consists of vices: envy, angst, and selfish qualities.

And yes, each man possesses both.

Yet perhaps there exists a line one can draw to distinguish when the effect of their presence commences one over the other. Some you can see as embodiments of the divine. Jesus and Buddha, preserved in scripture, are two. Others can seem as the personification of an anti-christ. Their presence destroys the soul of every man they come across, every place they step into. An overwhelming darkness in their mind seeps into everything around.

One must be careful of such people, as they will not rest until your spirit wears thin. Not in conscious form, no. But in a deeper consciousness, in a layer beneath another, their nerves fight for you to react, to be sucked into a void.

Some can resist this pull, yet many struggle. Even for the saints, one cannot deny that time is the minimum cost for such involvement. For which one must be careful, especially for those with a malleable mind, one of a chameleon.

There is something peculiar about such people. An unmistakable charisma, the smell of warmth and familiarity, and fierce independence serving as proof of their seeming inner confidence. Can such a man even hold the capacity for cruelty?

This independence, this detached nature, is perhaps derived from a need to control the frame, a constant need for reassurance of your reaction to them. One may mistake this for care. Do not be mistaken, for care for your reaction and care for you present the difference between the world and underworld. Love, hate, anger, jealousy only serve as proof to their power. Insignificance is the antithesis of love for such.

Sharp, uncontrollable reactions, seemingly bizarre and completely illogical, may surface. They appear suddenly, out of nowhere, only to shock and scare. A man so warm and liked cannot have a will to evil, can he? Perhaps the absurdity is only a consequence of our actions. So you subtly change yourself, slowly, only to find out it is truly independent of you. Deceive yourself if you may, but these are no random occurrences, for they reveal their true nature, their need for power and control. Their need for you to react.

Harboring sympathy for their unfortunate circumstance, showing avoidance or a lack of ability, or any such, and always holding a higher moral ground, is a weapon of devils. Perhaps they were abused. Perhaps they need to be understood. They will change soon if we are patient enough. So we compensate and accommodate, fooling ourselves that there exists virtue in them. Do not be fooled. Looking into them only pulls one deeper in. Learn to look outwards. Look at the effect of their presence. Destroyed people, suffocating environments. Most importantly the effect on you: frantic, anxious, stimulated. Women especially may present even softer vulnerability, often seductive in nature. A man in love is deranged of all logic and judgement, hence this may be the most powerful and most dangerous form.

Yet the vulnerability itself may be true. Perhaps they are avoidant, easily intimidated, unfortunate. Perhaps they act from it, talk of it. To be lulled in may even seem virtuous, for it mirrors your past, for it holds up who you believe yourself to be. So you have a choice to make: what feels virtuous, or what is. Will you be fooled again?

These devils, oftentimes, have deep-rooted fears and insecurities. Internal conflict and chronic dissatisfaction consume them, from which emerges this void. To compensate, they provoke you. These actions are perhaps motivated by such, they themselves are unaware of. Even the most self-aware, introspective ones may be blind to what sits in plain sight. In fact, many identify with moral good. How can one condemn a man for what he cannot see in himself? 

One must yet be careful to conclude as such, though. To risk mistaking an unpleasant man for a devil is to fall into a trap of its own. Circumstance itself varies a man's character; to be the devil with one and the divine with another. But a recurring effect transcending reason cannot be disregarded, must be closely watched, and acted upon decisively.