Website owner: James Miller
Stay away from these demons: Pride, Anger, Hatred, Lust, Envy and Jealousy
Stay away from these fellows. They will do you bad. They are
nasty. What fellows are these that I speak of? What are their
names? Their names are Pride, Anger, Hatred, Lust, Envy and
Jealousy. These guys will just love getting hold of you. And
once they get their hold and establish possession, they will
not be easy to get rid of. They will hang right on. They will
hang on like demons from hell. You will probably never be able
to get rid of them. They will own you and you will serve them.
And they are hard taskmasters. And what harm will they do you?
They will destroy your mind. They will destroy your spirit.
They will destroy you. "What do you mean?", do you say. Well,
I mean they will destroy your mental health, take you down the
paths of mental illness. These demons will take over your
calm, objective, healthy mind, impose their own perverted,
twisted thought patterns, and lead your mind into all kinds of
foolishness. They will warp and muddle your thought processes,
impair your judgment, deceive you, trick you, and ruin you.
They will link up together and take you down roads you don't
want to go, roads of despair. They will destroy the most
important possession you have: the healthy, well-balanced,
properly functioning mind.
A person is confused and unhappy. But he doesn't understand
why. Something is terribly wrong with him but he doesn't know
the cause. He is all mixed up emotionally. He is seeing a
psychiatrist. He feels like he is in a trap he can't get out
of. He tries to think his way out of the problem, to analyze
his way out. But his mind just goes in circles, becomes hung up
on the problem, becomes obsessed by the problem. And that just
creates another problem. He is like a fly caught in a spider's
web, frantically obsessed with trying to get free. What has
happened is one or more of the above demons has taken
possession of him and is wreaking havoc.
Pride may be there doing its thing, but you don't see it, just
like you don't see the nose on your face. Anger may be there
and you know it is there, but you don't think much about that.
That anger is well justified. You know that. Hate may be
there but you don't think much about that either. It is also
well justified.
No one with deep emotional problems can see the causes. You
have to be free of the problems and see them from the distance
of time to understand them. If the problem is pride you won't
see it. To see it you must become free of the pride and see
it all from the perspective of a humble mind. Only then
can you see it. If the problem is anger you won't see it. To
see it you must be free of the anger and view it from the
perspective of a mind free of anger.
Dec 2009
Later note. 4 Mar 2026.
What causes these demons inside people? What causes this demon called Arrogance or High Pride? What causes high inner anger? What causes different kinds of hatred? What causes lust? What causes envy or jealousy? Where do these demons come from? How did they get in us? The answer lies in thoughts. They got there through our thoughts — thoughts that we have thought at some time in our past. Our past thoughts form our current mind and outlook.
What we are at a particular time is where our mind has led us.
All that we are is the result of what we have thought. What we think we become.
Buddha
Thus these things start with the thoughts that we have thought at some time or other in our lives. Then these thoughts become ossified into fixed ways of looking at things through repetition and become habitual ways of thinking and viewing things i.e. they become mental habits. Thus we acquire attitudes, outlooks, assumptions, etc. Then the task of getting rid of harmful or bad attitudes, outlooks, and views becomes a problem of changing habits. And that can be difficult.
We first make our habits then our habits make us.
Habit is a cable. We weave a thread of it every day, and at
last we cannot break it.
H. Mann
Habit is the deepest law of human nature.
Carlyle
Habit is either the best of servants or the worst of masters.
Emmons
Habits are soon assumed; but when we endeaver to strip them
off, it is being flayed alive.
Cowper
See
The Prime Mover that decides "What We Are"
4 Mar 2026
Jesus Christ and His Teachings
Way of enlightenment, wisdom, and understanding
America, a corrupt, depraved, shameless country
On integrity and the lack of it
The test of a person's Christianity is what he is
Ninety five percent of the problems that most people have come from personal foolishness
Liberalism, socialism and the modern welfare state
The desire to harm, a motivation for conduct
On Self-sufficient Country Living, Homesteading
Topically Arranged Proverbs, Precepts, Quotations. Common Sayings. Poor Richard's Almanac.
Theory on the Formation of Character
People are like radio tuners --- they pick out and listen to one wavelength and ignore the rest
Cause of Character Traits --- According to Aristotle
We are what we eat --- living under the discipline of a diet
Avoiding problems and trouble in life
Role of habit in formation of character
Personal attributes of the true Christian
What determines a person's character?
Love of God and love of virtue are closely united
Intellectual disparities among people and the power in good habits
Tools of Satan. Tactics and Tricks used by the Devil.
The Natural Way -- The Unnatural Way
Wisdom, Reason and Virtue are closely related
Knowledge is one thing, wisdom is another
My views on Christianity in America
The most important thing in life is understanding
We are all examples --- for good or for bad
Television --- spiritual poison
The Prime Mover that decides "What We Are"
Where do our outlooks, attitudes and values come from?
Sin is serious business. The punishment for it is real. Hell is real.
Self-imposed discipline and regimentation
Achieving happiness in life --- a matter of the right strategies
Self-control, self-restraint, self-discipline basic to so much in life