Dragon Ball Z was the first anime I ever watched. It wasn’t really my choice. During my second semester at Bible College I was at a small school that only had one TV in the student center. You could reserve the TV for certain time slots and a guy across the hall reserved the TV during all of Dragon Ball Z's timeslots for the entire semester. If you wanted to watch TV during those times, you were gonna watch DBZ. I didn’t mind though because I quickly got engulfed into the storyline. When I began, we were in the Frieza Saga and I think future Trunks had just shown up. I watched all of the series I could, then went back and watched the OG Dragon Ball and whatever else I could get my hands on. While Krillin was, and still is, my favorite DBZ character, I have some serious love for Vegeta. Vegeta, the prince of all Saiyans is one of the most powerful beings in all the universe. Not the most powerful, but let's be real -- even from his introduction the guy could blow up a planet with one finger and as the years and battles raged on he only got stronger.
By the time "Resurrection F" hit theatres, he was right there with Goku on power levels and abilities. There is no question of his strength and power, but right in the middle of the Majin Buu Saga we see Vegeta overtaken by the wizard Babidi and branded with a stylish "M" imprinted on his forehead, dubbing him
Majin Vegeta. Beyond the new ink and label there is a bigger issue at hand. Vegeta has been placed under the power of the evil wizard, and is beckoned to commit his evil purposes and commands. It seems rather out of place that such a powerful warrior would succumb to the magic of a little Yoda-looking wanna be.
To me it also seems rather out of place and equally confusing/frustrating to watch believers be lead astray and walk away from their faith, commitment, and often all common sense and allow sin to possess and master them in the same way Babidi controlled Vegeta. Believers may not be the princes of all Saiyans or be able to fight a round with Goku, but we have Jesus as a savior, the Holy Spirit guiding us, and a Father in Heaven watching over us. Sin shouldn’t be able to defeat or control us, right? No. No, it shouldn't.
Romans 10:13 "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape so that you are able to bear it."
There is no sin or temptation that has power over us.
So why is it we fall to temptation so often?
Back to Vegeta. When push comes to shove we find that Babidi really didn’t have total control over Vegeta. Sure, Vegeta may have blown up a couple thousand people in the stands as a result of the influence, but that was when it served Vegeta's purpose as well as Babidi's. Babidi wasn't strong enough to overcome Vegeta. It turns out that Vegeta only allowed Babidi to take hold of him so that he would have enough power to finally defeat Goku. The battle between Goku and Vegeta that the following dialogue centers around is one of the coolest and most hardcore fights in any medium.
Goku: You mean you...you fool! You deliberately let yourself fall under Babidi's spell? Majin Vegeta: Yes. I saw the power of Babidi's magic. At the World's Martial Arts Tournament, those two henchmen he sent. Those people who had seen those fighters in the previous tournament couldn't understand how they became so powerful, but you and I know, don't we? It was Babidi's magic and I knew that what his magic had done for those fighters could also be done to me. I knew that if I allowed myself to fall under his control the difference in our power would disappear. I'm quite pleased with the results, even if they do come at a price. I'd say the end result more than justifies the means.
Goku: Vegeta, I don't understand. You've never allowed anyone to help you before in your life. Why start now? Why Babidi?!
Majin Vegeta: 'Cause I wanted him to reawaken the evil in my heart. I wanted him to return me to the way I was before!
Sadly this is how we are in our mindset so often. Even though the Bible says we are dead to sin and that in Christ we are a new creation, we continually turn back to the evil that was in us before Christ.
Majin Vegeta: "I was the perfect warrior; Cold & ruthless. I lived by my strength alone. Uninhibited by foolish emotion! But slowly...over the years...I became one of you. My quest for greatness giving way to this life of mediocrity. I awoke one day to find that I had settled down, formed a family. I had even grown quite fond of them. Would you believe, I was starting to think the Earth was a nice place to live? Do you understand now Kakarott? That's why I needed Babidi, to set me free, by releasing the evil in my heart. He has freed me from these petty attachments & I have to say, it feels pretty good."
Goku: "Do you really believe what you're saying?"
Vegeta wanted something. His pride had overshadowed his heart to the point he wanted to finally prove that he could defeat Goku, so he allowed evil to take possession of him. That's how it is with sin in our lives. There is no sin that has power over us, but when we want our own way, we allow sin to have control and convince ourselves and others that sin has the best of us, or that sin has control when really we just surrendered so we could get what we want, even if it hurts ourselves, others, or God. Deep down we have a sin nature that compels us to sin, but we have to learn to fight against it. Romans 12:9 shows us what the bottom line looks like: "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil, cling to what is good." As long as we entertain sin, desire sin, or long for sin, we will pursue it, but if we truly love God then sin will be detestable to us, we will hate sin, and cling to what is good. Side note: hating sin does not mean hating someone sinning; I hate mayonnaise but I'm not going to punch anyone in the throat for eating it.
We know where Vegeta's mistake was. He chose to let evil control him, but that wasn’t the beginning of it. It began when he harbored pride, dwelled in discontentment, and remained jealous and unforgiving for years. There may come a moment where we choose sin and allow it power over us, but there is always a chance where we can easily turn away from it long before it gets to that point. Check out James 1:14-15, "But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desires. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death." When we chose not to hate sin and allow our own evil desires to thrive, it will result in sin, and sin brings death. You may not drop dead on the spot or anything but you are bringing death into your life when you allow sin a place in it. The culmination of all this would in fact be Vegeta's death. Don't worry, it's Dragon Ball Z; everyone comes back. But sadly for us, sometimes when we allow sin to rule over our lives, there is no coming back from the consequences that you reap. So please don't allow sin to control you. No matter what you think you might get out of it, in the end sin will always bring death into your life. You are stronger than that in Christ. Don't even allow the enemy to win a battle that Christ has already handed you.
"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." Romans 8:37