The Devil Made Me Do It
And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed! Luke 22:22
As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” John 13:27
In the 70s, the comedian Flip Wilson coined the phrase – The Devil made me do it! Wilson would do something outrageous, then grin into the camera and say, “The Devil made me do it.” The audience would bawl with laughter. In other words, Wilson was exploiting the spiritual realm to avoid the responsibility of making decisions that displeased Godly living while avoiding personal consequences. By saying the Devil made me do it, you got off the hook by laying your responsibilities on someone else. Mainly, you avoid the woes if you blame your worst behavior on the Devil.
Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, is the one who betrayed Jesus. Even before he sealed his deal with the religious leaders, Judas heard this woe from Jesus - but woe unto the man he betrayed! Yet, the Scripture informed us that Satan entered Judas. So, when you analyze the different passages that explain the betrayal, can one blame Judas or Satan for initiating such an atrocity?
It is human nature to blame another when the fault belongs to the individual deciding to enter wrongful behavior. For example, it is like telling your mother that your sister broke her coffee cup when she lefted the room instead of you, who is holding the broken coffee cup. Yet, when someone engages in generous behavior, we refuse to cast the outcome on something like the Devil. For this reason, Jesus referred to the term woe to demonstrate the balance between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. Jesus wanted Judas to take responsibility for his act of betrayal. Likewise, every human must accept the responsibility of knowing right and wrong. This responsibility became prevalent in the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. From that point, humans became knowledgeable of the woe of choices. However, the average person never wants to become the fall guy, leading to individuals failing to become responsible. We tend to forget about the woe by arguing that I didn’t know, you failed to explain it, or you did not give me the right information, which is the same as saying the Devil made me do it.
In this no-fault-of-mine culture, believers must understand the woes of betraying their essence. Some people believe this no-fault-of-mine culture is good because it prevents them from being responsible and allows blaming others for their choices. Just think about the last time you became the fall guy, or someone blamed you for his shortfalls. For instance, can you imagine working with a person who only communicates via email, and his emails tend to blame you for any mistakes because he is always right. When you see his emails, you constantly delay opening them because of the no-fault-of-mine mentality that he demonstrates. In contrast, believers understand the level of responsibility and encourage others to accept responsibilities. They exclude the thought of blaming the Devil or another person leading to woes.
When you are responsible, it avoids the woes of betraying the essence of our lives, as it ensures we remain in line with God's will. Then and only then will we operate in our duty to serve. When we are responsible for our behavior, God accomplishes His will and is glorified.