Did the Devil Really Make You Do It?
How we often give the devil more than his due.
We’ve all heard this one (or maybe even said it): “The devil made me do it!” Whether it's sleeping in on Sunday or cursing another driver on the freeway or losing our temper with our spouse, Satan gets a lot of credit for our bad behavior.
But did the devil really make you do it?
Short answer: probably not.
Long Answer: No, the devil didn’t but he can influence us to make bad choices.
First, who is the devil?
In Christian theology, he is also known as Satan and Lucifer. He is an angel of the Lord who rebelled against God’s authority and was cast out of heaven due to his defiance and attempted overthrow of the Throne of God (Luke 10:18; Revelation 12:9–10). He is seen early on in the book of Job, accusing Job of having a shallow faith, of being God-fearing only because God blessed him, and begging God to allow him to torment Job and prove his theory (Job 1:6–16). He is also seen in the Garden in the form of the serpent who tempted Eve by calling into question God’s command to not eat from the tree of life. (Did God really say… [Genesis 3:1])
Jesus refers to him as the Father of Lies and a murderer (John 8:44) and the ruler of this world (John 12:31). He is seen tempting Jesus to renounce His Divine Sonship and worship him by twisting Scripture (Matt 4:1–11) because he opposes God’s work (Zechariah 3:1). The Apostle Paul says that he assumes the form of an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), blinds the eyes of people (2 Corinthians 4:4), and uses deception, powerful signs, and false wonders to lead astray (2 Thessalonians 2:9).
The devil sinned against God and is actively working against God’s Kingdom even now, with the help of his fellow fallen angels. He is a prideful megalomaniac who thinks that he knows better than the God who created him, and so wants to take Christ’s place on the Throne! BUT because the devil is a creature, he is no match for God!
God is all-mighty, all-knowing, and always present everywhere. Satan? Not so much!
insert Hulk saying “puny God” meme here.
So can the devil make you do it?
Maybe. People can become demonized (what most people think of as possession), that is they have evil forces which are present in their lives and minds, influencing them to make bad choices. But anyone who belongs to Christ, that is anyone who has given their lives over to Christ, has the Holy Spirit dwelling within them, which leaves little to no room for demons. Yet, like rats, who can enter a building through the tiniest crack, demons don’t need much room to sneak in. Combatting this is as easy (and as difficult) as confessing sins to friends, partners, and spouses and staying away from things that tempt you to stray. Don’t give demons any garbage to feed on! Easier said than done, right?
The origin of the phrase is often credited to comedian Flip Wilson. His character Geraldine blames the devil for her impulsive shopping habits: “the devil made me buy this dress!” link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NASl_Qy2sc
Conclusion
While Satan and his minions can pressure you into making poor choices, the devil didn’t make you curse that erratic driver on your commute or eat that extra slice of pizza or skip church. The devil likely is NOT to blame for that flat tire either. We make our own decisions and oftentimes, our decisions are selfish ones, gratifying our own desires, even though we might want to do otherwise to glorify God. The apostle Paul, that Super Apostle, who planted countless churches and authored over half the New Testament, struggled with this. Don’t believe me? Check out Romans 7:19–20:
“For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do — this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.”
If even this titan of Christianity had to wrestle with a desire to do what he knew he shouldn’t, why should we expect our own lives to be any different? Through the grace of God that comes via the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we can steadily get better at making godly decisions. So let us stop giving the devil so much undeserved credit and own up to our faults and flaws. Sometimes, life just sucks.
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