The devil tempts but doesn’t force.
-- Guyana proverb

You and your work buddies just spent the last hour talking about your co-worker, and not in a favorable manner. You talked disparagingly about what she’s wearing, her hair, her work, even her kids. You called her a no good so n’ so, said she had no business thinking she is who she is, and offered up that she should be fired. When you got to your office and sat down at your desk, you realized the mess you’d created and been a part of and said, “Lord, forgive me. The devil made me do it.”

As you dressed for work this morning, you reflected on last evening when you dined with the most fabulous woman you’d met in a while. You and she shared interesting conversation that became intimate and cozy. The conversation led you hand-in-hand out of the restaurant, into your car, and headed to her home – the home she shared with her husband who happened to be out of town on business. You and she made wild, passionate love in the same bed that she and her husband conceived their children. Now as you think back on it, waves of guilt overtake you, and looking for some way out of the mess you’d been a part of, you say, “the devil made me do it.”

You were out of staples, paper clips, and scotch tape. You also needed more copy paper and labels. After hours at work, you went into the supply room, restocked those items, and put them in your attaché case to cart to your business on the side. Yes, for the past 6 years, your 9 – 5 has done more than supplied you with a paycheck. You’ve copped everything from office supplies and software to office furniture and random use of the company van to stock your flourishing home business. You said to yourself, “a big company like this, they’ll never miss this stuff. Besides I helped them make their profits, I deserve to take these perks.” In the middle of the night last night, it occurred to you, when you moved all the reasons why out of the way, that what you were doing was stealing. Ashamed and embarrassed about your actions, you cried. Then, in an attempt to feel better, you said, “the devil made me do it.”

Clever line; quick tactic, passing off the responsibility of your actions to somebody else. If there was ever anybody to blame, certainly your scandalous and distressing actions belong to the devil’s division.

But what about the gift of free will? The gift of free choice? Can the devil, the enemy, actually make you do anything without your choosing?

We do things, good and bad, based on our own ideas. Blaming our bad ideas and choices on another force is convenient and done so casually that before we realize it, we’ve taken ourselves off the hook as though we were mere puppets in the unfolding of unpleasant events of our lives, like we had no part in them whatsoever. Isn’t it irrational to not hold yourself accountable for the things you do?

But how funny is it that we don’t relinquish accountability when the good stuff has happened for us? Then it’s all about what we did. Why be accountable for the good and not the bad? Again, that’s just not rational thinking.

Both the enemy and God tell us what to do. You can think of it if you wish as the wicked angel on one shoulder and the moral angel on the other, both whispering in your ear the path to travel. On most occasions, one voice is just as loud as the other and both offer solutions that will remedy the problem, of course, however, with different ends. It’s your choice whose instructions and what end you will follow.

But don’t blame the devil when you make a bad choice. Just as you ignore God, you can certainly ignore the enemy’s taunts.

Sadiqqa © 2007