The Devil Did Not Make Me Do It

The choices we make determine the words we say and the actions we take. The question then becomes, “What caused this person to do or say these things which caused others to have a significant emotional event?” Many people want to blame the devil, some say it is a mental disease, some will even go as far saying the person was born with the defect that caused the person to act that way. Each of those can be right in some respects but the last one is probably the most accurate. We are all born with a sinful nature, it is our choice as to whether we embrace it, or fight it. How we are raised, and live our lives are what influences our choice.
Adam was given a direct command from God not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge (aka. Good and Evil). Eve was told of the Tree by Adam, but we are not sure whether or not Adam explained the rules completely. The serpent in the garden (influenced by the Adversary) influenced Eve to make a choice. In the process, Eve added to God’s Word which influenced the serpent to entice Eve into making a bad choice. God immediately condemned the serpent and took the arms and legs away (Gen3:14). He then caused retribution on Satan and Mankind saying, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (Gen 13:15).     
The Devil Made Me Do It, is a common phrase heard one too many times when person does something that is not in the norm for the person. It usually involves something tragic. But here is the truth of the matter…. Satan, the Adversary is the influencer that causes a person to make a choice to do or say things. These influences are ideations that lead to temptations and ultimately sin. Satan uses the world around us to place us into a position that requires us to make choices. In other words, the devil cannot make you do anything, it is all about choice.
 
The Hebrew word śāṭān, meaning “accuser” or “adversary,” occurs several times throughout the Tanakh and references enemies both human and celestial alike. When referring to the celestial adversary, the word is typically accompanied by the definite article. He is ha-satan--the Accuser—and it is a job description rather than a proper name. That is right, a job description. 
Looking into the book of Job, ha-satan is the one that prompted God to allow Job’s faith to be tested. There were no temptations placed on Job’s heart and ha-satan could not break him. Here, the Adversary plays a dirty prosecutor who influenced certain aspects of the world to make a mess of Job’s life. So looking in the ethereal, ha-satan is not an individual, but one who wreaks havoc causing things to happen that affects the world around us and tests our free will by allowing us to choose how we will react.
Over the millennia, this position on the council has been more personified and it stands to reason that this Satan is connected to Lucifer the fallen and what we call the Devil. This personification is found in many cultures specifically Greece and Roman being known as Hades and Pluto. Other cultures name the god of the dead as Osiris, Ogbunabali, Iku, Mot, Aita, and Ishtar-Deela, to name a few. East Asian mythos has a whole team for the underworld set up in a hierarchy Starting at emperors all the way down to gatekeepers, administrators and judges. Many of these are not influencers but are still considered to be feared.
Ha-satan, the Accuser, tester of man and deity may have fallen from grace and become known as Lucifer the deceiver and prince of this world with his minions (demons) but he does not make us do anything that we would not choose to do. Demons wreak havoc on man to help us make poor choices to keep us away from God but they cannot win the battle of Good and Evil when a person is given a choice to live with God or away from God no matter how good they make it sound.  

Free Will

Judeo-Christian Believers understand that there is a difference between eternal life and eternal death. Because of this understanding we are granted the ability free will, the right to choose our course of action in daily living. This Free Will also means that we understand the difference between right and wrong ways of living. Our Free Will is given a boost when we have the Holy Spirit, the Helper, living within us and guiding us to make good moral and ethical choices which determine our ultimate fate which is living in God’s light or in darkness, separated from God. Free Will is a gift from God that was in place from the beginning even before The Fall but was not understood until the fruit was eaten.

The Choice is Yours

   What you do with your life is your choice but I hope that you listen to the Holy Spirit and not the deceiver. The worldly influences are gaining ground every day and have infiltrated all ranks of religious hierarchy. We can choose to get back to the ways that take us to the Father or continue down the path that leads to separation from God. I hope you choose the path that leads to eternal life because the darkness is a very frightening place.
May God’s Loving Grace envelop you,
 Rob, Servant of God