Jesus Said to Do It

Anybody remember Flip Wilson? He was a popular comedian in the '60s and '70s. His tagline was, "The devil made me do it." Whatever went wrong, blame it on the devil and remove personal culpability. Say something mean? "The devil made me do it." Overspend, overeat, or overindulge? "The devil made me do it." It was a joke, but there might just be a little bit of truth in it --not in the excuse itself, but in the way some of us might consider the excuse valid. What did Adam say, when God confronted him about his sin? "The woman You gave me...", right? It was God's fault and Eve's fault. And "the woman's" response? "The serpent tricked me." In the wilderness, God told Moses to speak to the rock and water would pour forth, but he whacked it instead. Whose fault was it? According to him, the Israelites. 

Finger-pointing. We've all done it. Sometimes we blame others or circumstances, but how often do we cry, "The devil made me do it!" and chalk our troubles up to "satanic attack"? I'm speaking from experience, here. I'd like to be able to call myself a poor, unfortunate victim of deception or affliction, but I know me. I know how self-centered and egotistical I can be; I know how angry I can get. I can be sarcastic and passive-aggressive. I can withdraw from others and internalize everything. I can insist on my own way. I know how busyness can become my god and I will decline to sit quietly and hear God speak. That's me; that's my flesh. It's not an attack, it's not Satan's fault; the devil did not make me do it. It's just me, yielding to the flesh, forsaking a renewed mind and a circumcised heart. When I refuse the work the Holy Spirit is laboring to do in me, when I have issues I withhold from His correction, when I rebel against His sanctification by choosing self-amelioration or simply choosing to remain where I am, that is not the devil. That is me and those are my choices. Our flesh can be one of his greatest allies in our homes, our relationships, and in our minds. Our flesh is weak and not to be relied upon. The things of the flesh are opposite the things of the Spirit, bringing condemnation. Our flesh is filthy and unholy, and unable to make anyone perfect. When we give in to the temptations of our flesh Satan doesn't need to attack; we have given him the victory. No amount of finger-pointing can stop the truth: the devil didn't make us do it; he took a break while we did the work for him. 

Galatians 5:24 says, "And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." In Matthew 16:24, Jesus says we must all take up our cross, putting to death our natural or fleshly motives and impulses, and deny ourselves, refusing to give ground to that which is against the Spirit. And He says to take it up daily. It's an ongoing process. It's a daily practice, like brushing your teeth; you can't take a day off and expect the junk to remain at bay. It's not hopeless, but it is hard, and by God's grace, the Holy Spirit leads us as we toil. It's time we ditch the finger-pointing and the excuses; Jesus said to do it.