We create our own demons.”

This is one of the opening lines of Iron Man 3, this past summer’s latest billion-dollar blockbuster. Tony Stark is not referring to literal demons – evil spiritual beings who follow the devil and tempt us to sin. Rather, he is speaking figuratively about life’s complications and obstacles that we often create for ourselves. As Tony explains further, he flashes back to an event that happened years ago. In his youth, he had acted selfishly and is now paying for his indiscretions. Concerned only about gratifying his own desires without a thought as to who he might offend, at a technology conference, Tony deeply offended a scientist named Aldrich Killian. By ignoring Killian’s request for a meeting so that he could have a one-night stand with another scientist named Mia Hanson, Tony created a monster–a demon.

Flash back to present day – “So why am I telling you this? Because I had just created demons, and I didn’t even know it.” Tony’s actions had created a serious problem that would come back to bite him. Even after Tony had experienced a change of heart, he would still have to deal with the problems caused by the mistakes of his youth. Tony’s enemies didn’t care that he was now trying to do good after becoming Iron Man.

Motivated by getting revenge on Tony Stark, Aldrich Killian had develop the Extremis Virus and was now using it to create an army of super-soldiers. With these highly volatile soldiers Aldrich sought to completely destroy Tony and gain ultimate power in the process.

Tony Stark is his own worst enemy.

Many of the conflicts that he faces are a result of his own sins. He offends people through his actions, and those people ultimately seek revenge. In the comics (but not in the movies), Tony Stark also has his another demon to deal with when he struggles with alcoholism. At one point, he even loses his company because of his addiction. In today’s comic world, he is a recovering alcoholic who still continues to deal with the repercussions of his past actions.

Even though Tony Stark is a great illustration of a person who created demons for himself, it may be helpful to look at another example. For this example we turn to God’s Word. King David is a very relevant biblical example of someone who had to deal with the consequences of his sins. In perhaps one of the best known accounts of the sin of adultery, David had an affair with a woman named Bathsheba. One sin led to another and David committed many other sins, including having Bathsheba’s husband put to death.

David eventually repented of his sin, but there would still be consequences. The prophet Nathan informed him that he and his descendants who would rule over Israel would always have to deal with enemies trying to conquer them. One of these enemies would be his own son Absalom.

Absalom rebelled against his father and tried to make himself King over Israel. When David was fleeing from Absalom’s attacks, he wrote, “O Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! Many are saying of me, ‘God will not deliver him.’” (Psalm 3:1, 2). David’s past sins had created very difficult circumstances. His own son was trying to kill him.

And yet, David knew where he needed to turn for deliverance. In the same Psalm he wrote, “But you are a shield around me, O Lord; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head… From the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people” (Psalm 3:3, 8).

When we face problems because of our sins, we have a God who promises to be there for us and to take care of us. We probably don’t have the problems that King David or Tony Stark faced. But we do have problems.

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Dealing with the problems that result from your sins can be a heavy burden. You may despise yourself for the damage that you have done. Loneliness may set in because people don’t trust you after you have sinned against them so often. You might even be drifting away from your Savior or tempted to blame him for your problems rather than seeing that you caused those “demons”.

In the end, each one of us, obviously, has to deal with our own problems, created by the ways that we have sinned against others. But each of us also has a loving Savior who took care of those sins on the cross. I like how Galatians 3:13 says it, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’” Although the earthly consequences of our sin can be hard to live with, we are comforted in knowing that Christ’s sacrifice and forgiveness have removed the eternal consequences of our sins.

As we suffer through troubles in this life, so many of which we have brought on ourselves, it’s easy to feel like we are under a curse. And yet, Jesus has redeemed us from the true curse of sin. He has rescued us from the biggest problem. He took away sin and the ultimate consequence of sin – the judgment and punishment that we deserve.

We certainly do “create our own demons.” Tony Stark had many problems because of his past sins. Even after Aldrich Killian nearly destroyed Tony, Tony showed why he is a Superhero. Tony Stark, with help from his friends James Rhodes and Pepper Potts, defeated his “demon”. King David, on the other hand, could not overcome the consequences of his sin on his own. He needed his Savior to rescue him. We too need our Savior. The problems we go through because of our sins remind us that we live in a world that is completely contaminated by sin. But they are also reminders of how much we need our God. Jesus has done away with all of our real problems. He got rid of the eternal consequences of our sin. In this life, we won’t be free of the consequences of sin. But because Jesus has saved us, we will one day be completely free to experience the eternal joy of heaven where no demons literal or figurative can harm and haunt us.

Iron Man History

“Demon in a Bottle” is the greatest Iron Man story ever told. It began in issue 120 from March 1979. In this story Tony has to fight his own personal demons as he struggles with alcoholism. This story defined the personality of Tony Stark in a way that made him relatable to the average person. Despite the fact that Tony is the Invincible Iron Man, he is a human being who struggles against temptation. His struggle takes a heavy toll but he becomes even stronger as he deals with his addiction. To this day, Tony Stark is a recovering alcoholic. Tony’s inner strength makes him truly Invincible.

Preview

This post is the last of the Iron Man posts. Read the others: here , here and here.

The next series of More Than Superheroes posts will focus on the superhero who wields the hammer which bears the following inscription, “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of … THOR”