THE DEVIL DIDN'T MAKE ME DO IT

THE DEVIL DIDN'T MAKE ME DO IT

"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, (NIV)

Leslie Dunkin talked about a lesson he learned as a kid from
the family dog. He told how his dad would put a piece of
meat on the floor near the dog and say, "No!" The dog knew
he mustn't touch it. But he never looked at the meat. He
seemed to feel that if he did, the temptation to disobey
would be too great. Instead, he looked steadily at my
father's face.

Temptation is not only for the dogs! It is something that
every human being struggles with.

My mother used to play lawn bowls. In case you haven't seen
this game played, players stand at one end of a perfectly
level lawn bowling green and roll this odd shaped ball
toward a tiny white ball at the other end of the green. I
don't know the rules, but it seemed like the person who came
the closest to the little white ball without hitting it
scored the highest. I'm sure someone will correct me if
this is not so, but the point I'm making is not about the
rules of the game. It's about the bowling ball which is more
like a very fat saucer. One side of this saucer shaped ball
has a loaded weight which causes it to pull to one side. In
other
words, it has a built-in bias to go astray.

As humans, we, too, have a "built-in bias" to go astray.
It's what the Bible and theologians call our sin nature.
Even the great Apostle Paul struggled with it. He talked
about wanting to do what was right and not do wrong, but
found himself doing the opposite. We know about that
struggle too. And we know where the bias comes from, but
where does temptation come from?

Some would say that it comes from the devil. But does it?
Sure, he is the father of lies and the originator of sin,
and the one who introduced the sin bias into the human race.
The Bible also describes him as a roaring lion seeking whom
he may devour, and that he can appear as an angel of light.
However, for many of my sins and failures, I don't need the
devil's help. I can foul things up all by myself.

Sometimes I think we credit the devil, Satan, with too much
power. Sure, he is a powerful, brilliant being, and has been
around for a long time and is desperately cunning, evil and
wicked. But he isn't God and he's not omnipotent (all
powerful); he's not omniscient (all knowing); and he's not
omnipresent (all present). Certainly he has his evil agents
called demons and they are at work in and throughout our
society and even possessing some people. But, as I
understand
the Bible, we also have a part. It says, "Each one is
tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and
enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to
sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death"
(James 1:14-15, NIV).

So, to blame the devil or his demons for the part I play can
be a handy excuse to hang on to if I don't want to grow up
and become responsible.

I think that one of Satan's most effective weapons is to
keep us blind to the truth. He is the father of lies and is
symbolized by darkness. Jesus is the Truth and also the
Light. Many of our temptations spring out of unresolved
personal issues, many of which are "in the dark." That is,
they are hidden and buried and out of our sight. However,
when we become aware of these issues and bring them to the
Light, Satan loses his foothold for he cannot stand the
Light nor the Truth. And as Jesus said, it's the Truth that
sets us free.

For example, the Apostle Paul pointed out that when we are
angry and don't resolve it, WE give a foothold to the devil!
(See Ephesians 4:27 TLB). In other words, resolve the anger,
and the devil loses his foothold. I think we could apply
this principle to all unresolved personal issues. When we
honestly face them, bring them to the Light and to Christ
for his healing, the devil loses his foothold.

But when we don't bring our anger (and the root cause of it)
to the light, and mull it over in our mind, is when we are
tempted to lash out and do something stupid. . .and regret
it afterwards. Some people regret what they did in a fit of
rage for the rest of their life, all because they never
faced and dealt with the root cause of their anger.

We will always face temptation because of our "sin bias."
But the more we deal with and resolve the root causes of our
personal issues, the less we will be tempted to go astray.
Then, if we follow the example of the dog in our opening
story and look squarely in our Master's face, and just don't
look at what we are being tempted to do, we, too, will be
given the power to overcome temptation's pulling power.

"Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you for your Word, the
Bible, and for assuring me that with every temptation you
have provided a way of escape. Please help me to want to
escape when I am tempted and keep my eyes fixed on you so I
will be given the power to not yield to the temptation. And
please help me to see every foothold in my life that Satan
could use to seek to destroy me. Gratefully in Jesus' name.
Amen."

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