a loss of control

"You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?" Acts 13:10

"He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning." 1 John 3:8

The restaurant I wait tables at is really small, so the people that work there (dishwashers, cooks, servers) are in close contact all the time. This is where I met Javier and Octavio.

Javier and Octavio are brothers who ran across the border from Mexico less than a year ago. Javier is 17, and Octavio is 15. They live in an apartment with a man who I'm guessing is about 35, and they pay their own rent and all other living expenses. They both have two jobs, working constantly, and most of their money they send home to Mexico. Neither of them speaks English, but is taking classes to learn and have an encouraging zeal for life. It has been a blessing being around them at work and spending time getting to know them. Unfortunately they don't know the Lord, hopefully that will change. I would have to say they were probably raised Catholic, or have definitely been exposed to Catholicism, as most Latinos are. Regardless of their faith, they are both so young, and if I were to compare them to someone of the same age born and raised here in the States, WOW!... what more can I say?

Jose is the sues chef at the restaurant and has led a rough life. He has been involved in gangs in L.A., has been married three times and I'm not even sure how many children he has, I just know there are quite a few. He calls in late for work quite often, being hung-over or still drunk. Less than a month ago he was locked up for a weekend, for reasons unbeknownst to us. Jose would claim to be Catholic, but he definitely isn't a practicing one, or he has been shepherded horribly and fed some majorly wrong doctrine. So why the background on these three people?

In Mexican culture, there is still a large emphasis on young people respecting those older than them. Javier and Octavio, being kids, like to goof around at work and play games. They will sneak up behind someone and scare them, throw a piece of food, or for example, I've had personal items end up in the freezer, things of that nature. By no means is their playing excessive or out of control, they work hard when it is time to work, and play when there is time to play. Last Friday things got out of control though.

Javier was doing his job and Jose tried to take over. I've been told there has been tension between the two of them before and it has escalated into shouting, but nothing further. The same thing happened Friday when Jose tried to take over Javier’s job (of scooping ice cream nonetheless). The shouting turned into shoving but was brought to a stop because Ozzy (the busser) was there and kept yelling at them to knock it off. Without a doubt though, tension had been created. Jose went to his car and got a 7 inch blade and told Ozzy that he was going to cut them #$#@@##, as they were dis-respecting him.

The boys left to go home, but on their way, as they passed by a set of windows you can see the kitchen from, they stopped to taunt Jose just a little more. Big mistake. Jose went outside, pulled the knife and started swinging it around trying to get someone, and yes, he made contact with Javier. The knife sliced a decent sized cut into Javier’s right wrist producing a good amount of blood. From there my information ceases, and I don't know what happened next. All I know is that when I showed up for work on Saturday, Javier had a still bleeding cut on his wrist and a look of fear in his entire face that would have been obvious to anyone. The tension in the kitchen that day was ridiculous, as Jose and Javier were forced to work side by side.

Of course, there's the question as to why Jose wasn't fired, but that's neither what I'm asking or answering here. I propose this, what is that loss of temper? That flying off of the handle? That loss of control? How many times have you heard a friend innocently say, "I just got too drunk and lost control." Here's the one that drives my point home, if you have lost control, then who is in control?

Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God." John 8:42-47

Hopefully, so far, all the answers are obvious. But I have some more questions now, ones harder to find the answer to. At what point is control lost? Why does Peter say in his first epistle "Be self-controlled and alert? Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." Why does self-control play a part in that command? I have one more question, and then I must go. Can a Christian be taken under control by the devil to do his will?