Quit Blaming the Devil

I deal with people and their sin all of the time. It kind of comes with the line of work I'm in. I'm seeing a pattern that seems to be bugging me more and more in recent days. There are a lot of people who blame the devil for their sin. Though the devil is the author of sin and evil, we does not force us as humans to commit the act. The act of giving in to the temptation is ours. It's our sin because it was our choice. So many people say that the devil is destroying my marriage or the devil is why I'm losing my job or the devil is why I bad things are happening to me. Let's be honest. It is you and I who make our sinful choices and it's you and I who are paying the price for some of the choices we make. We have to take ownership of our own sin and repent.

I have a guy here at Oakwood who didn't file his taxes for a little over 7 years. He owed around $35,000 to the government. When he became a Christian, repented of his ways, got baptized and began living a real Christian life, he prayed & wished that God would fix the tax situation. Unfortunately, he still owed the government $35,000. He still had to make payments and over the next 7 years till he paid all of the taxes and penalties back.

Here's the point. The devil didn't make him do it. He made a choice to not pay his taxes just like he made a choice to pay his taxes back. The devil didn't make him owe the government money. He made that choice. I'm sure that the devil had something to do with the opportunity to sin, but the sinful choice was his own. We must get out of blaming the devil for things (I think that we're giving him a little too much credit) and take responsibility for what our actions and decisions produce. Only in that will we experience true repentance, freedom, and redemption.

It's time to own up and quit playing the blame game.

The next time you are faced with that temptation, you know, the one that the devil throws at you the most, remember that giving in is your choosing and not his. And remember what the Word of God says, "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." 1 Corinthians 10:13

The good choice or bad choice is up to you. You own it. It's yours. Now go do something about it!

Keep the faith & live the faith!