The Devil Made Me Do It

Verse of the Day: 1 Samuel 18:10-11, And it happened on the next day that the distressing spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied inside the house. So David played music with his hand, as at other times; but there was a spear in Saul’s hand. 11 And Saul cast the spear, for he said, “I will pin David to the wall!” But David escaped his presence twice.

Some of us may not be old enough to remember Flip Wilson, who was well known for the phrase, “The devil made me do it!” Although many may not know him, I’m sure that are many who have heard the statement. Sadly, too many of us use the devil as an excuse for the sins we commit. Like Adam, who blamed God for giving him Eve, we point the finger at Satan and his devils when we do not want to take responsibility for our own sinful actions. This is not to say that the devils do not tempt us. What I am saying is that the devils may tempt us, but it is our own sinful desires that we choose to give in to. Note that I said that we “choose” to give in to them. As I was writing this, someone posted something that read, “‘The devil is really working today!’ The devil responded, ‘Actually, I’m on vacation. That’s all you, chief.’” Although this is meant for comic relief, there is a bit of truth to it. Before the distressing spirit came upon Saul again, he was already feeling insecure, and was already jealous and upset with David because he received greater praise than he did. When the distressing spirit came upon him and Saul cast the spear toward David (twice), Saul already had in his heart that he would cause David harm. Verse 9 of this chapter tells us, “So Saul eyed David from that day forward.” We often blame the devils for the things we do that were already deep in our hearts. What we harbor in our hearts, if we contemplate them for too long, will manifest with a bit of prompting. If we go back to the Garden, Eve also blamed Satan for her choice to eat of the forbidden fruit. Genesis 3:13 tells us, “And the LORD God said to the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’” However, let us not forget what Genesis tells us before she made her decision to eat of the fruit that God forbade. In Genesis 3:6 we were told, “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” Note that once Eve set her eyes on the fruit, Satan is nowhere to be found. He put the temptation before her, and then stepped aside. Her own desires drove the rest of that tragic event. So it is with us. James 1:13-15 clearly states, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” We need to acknowledge that all that is in our hearts is not always pure. Jeremiah 17:9 reminds us, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” When we find ourselves being tripped up by sin, the possibility may be that the devils are tempting us, but the fact of the matter is that when temptation comes, we do not have to follow through and sin. The Word of God is clear of this in 1 Corinthians 10:13 which reads, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” When we sin, the LORD does not want our excuses; He wants our repentance. In Matthew 5:4 Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Psalm 31:10 says, “For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away.” If we choose to blame the devils for our actions, rather than see our sins for what they are, and for how God sees them, we will never truly come to that place of repentance where we are honestly confessing before the LORD. The next time we are tempted to say, “The devil made me do it”, we need to stop and consider that the only one who may be at fault, and is most likely at fault, is self. Praise be to God that we have a Savior who not only died to pay for our sins, but is our Advocate before the Father and is always ready to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1 & 2).

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).