The Blame Game

The Devil Made Me Do It?

My recent Bible reading has had me in Job. The trials (attacks) Job experienced are beyond anything we can imagine. He even says the things he “greatly feared” in life came to pass (Job 3:25). He was heartbroken, he was in distress, and he was physically in pain, but he did not blame God. Through it all he did not sin, and most importantly, he did not lose his faith in God. He continued to trust and praise Him through it.

Compare that to the first man and woman in Genesis, Adam and Eve. When they were tempted with sin and then committed the sin, they immediately started the blame game. Adam accused Eve and even pointed out to God it was the woman you gave me making it evident he was blaming God as well (Genesis 3:12). Eve blamed the serpent (the devil) while she did admit to being deceived (Genesis 3:13). Neither accepted the fact they were the ones who took the fruit and put it to their mouths.

When we know what we are supposed to not do and then do it anyways, that is the epitome of sin (James 4:17). Neither God nor the devil can MAKE us sin.

Have you ever heard someone blame the devil for everything that goes wrong? Lose a job? Satan has it out for me. Get sick? The enemy is attacking my physical health. Feeling depressed or having anxiety? The prince of darkness is stealing my joy and peace.

Very often the person staring back at you in the mirror is to blame. You chose to yield to temptation and then sin. You made a bad choice and then continued to make the same choice over and over turning it into a lifestyle. You didn’t heed warnings by the Holy Spirit whether through your daily Bible reading, sermons at church, biblically-centered friends, or even that still small “voice” pricking your heart to do what you know is right (John 14:26). “Right” could be to slow down at work for a mental break or more time with family (or God!), discontinue a relationship with someone who isn’t good for you, or whatever. There are obvious places Christians should not find themselves because of the propensity to sin; don’t go there! It also goes with things you listen to, things you read, things you watch…

While it may feel like the enemy is in control of our lives, we must remember our sovereign, omnipotent God is the One in control (Psalm 22:28, Job 12:10, plus many others). Satan is known as the accuser and deception is his chief weapon. Do not resort to his tactics, but let us take responsibility for the choices we make.

We must remember when we do sin, we are the ones who made that choice (1 Corinthians 10:13). The devil knows our weaknesses. He wants to destroy our lives, but he can’t do that unless we stop trusting in God and start falling into the temptation. God isn’t to blame (James 1:13) as Adam tried to charge, but we are (James 1:14-15). Don’t try to shift the blame like Adam and Eve. Take full responsibility and repent to the Lord.

Jesus gave the ultimate example of how to respond to temptation when He was in the wilderness. He depended on the Holy Spirit (Matthew 4:1), He fasted and prayed (Matthew 4:2), and He quoted Scripture to deny the devil’s temptations (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10). We too can conquer sin with this model.

“The reason why many fail in battle is because they wait until the hour of battle. The reason why others succeed is because they have gained their victory on their knees long before the battle came. Anticipate your battles; fight them on your knees before temptation comes, and you will always have victory.”

R. A. Torrey

Don’t blame the devil, defeat the devil. We have an Advocate who will help us fight our adversary (1 John 2:1). Remember, “greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:3-4). Quit pointing the finger and start putting it in the hands of the Lord by relying on the Holy Spirit, fasting and praying, and quoting God’s Word to rebuff our enemy’s lures. Temptation is going to come at us until our dying day, but remember Jesus has done all that is needed to defeat sin and Satan. Trusting God through trials and troubles will give us the ability to praise and strengthen our faith in Him as it did Job. When you walk in the Spirit as Jesus did, we can give Him the credit! 💕