-> Will you help us Open a World of Opportunity?    
 Home > Articles > Special Features > "The Devil Made Me Do It!"   
The Devil Made Me Do It!The Devil Made Me Do It!
by Rubel Shelly
Print This Article   Send it to a Friend

 
People have a wide variety of ideas about the Devil. Satan. Old Scratch. Beelzebub. The Prince of Darkness.

For some, Satan is the personification of dark tendencies and evil deeds rather than an actual person. For others, he is the red-suited guy with horns, tail, and pitchfork who is more comic than sinister. Then there are people like the New Testament writer Paul who says Satan is not only personal but smart — able to disguise himself as an "angel of light" to worm his way into our confidence.

While I'm no expert on the Devil –- who would want that distinction! –- I am convinced his best work is subtle, indirect, and masked in respectability. Who could be suckered by a horns-and-pitchfork adversary? But if he could just get you to project an image of decency while living at odds with that public profile ...

  • You could be very religious in terms of church attendance but deeply unspiritual as a racist or sexist in the way you see and treat people.

  • You might be a dynamic, outgoing, and respected leader in the larger community yet unloving, detached, or even abusive at home.

  • You can teach and counsel others with solid biblical wisdom and then justify yourself for not having to live by it personally.

  • You might quote Scripture voluminously and with chapter-and-verse accuracy but be oblivious to your bad temper or harsh and judgmental spirit.

    • Healing begins when we get honest.

  • You could be a quick volunteer and appear cooperative with people in your church but complain and criticize the whole time in following through.

  • You may project confidence in public yet have to numb yourself with alcohol or drugs at night because of a sense of failure, anger, or pain of heart.

Healing for our emotional and spiritual lives begins when we get honest about our inconsistencies. When we quit making excuses or blaming others. When we are courageous enough to admit how frazzled the basic connections of life have become – relationships with self, God, and people who care about us.

Comedian Flip Wilson made a fortune by saying, "The Devil made me do it!" And I for one don't deny that Satan can capture and enslave people so as to get them in horribly bad fixes. What I won't accept is that he wreaks his havoc independently of our wills. That he moves in and takes over without permission.

The Bible says: "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7 NIV) Effective resistance begins only when the excuse-making ends.

 
Share Related
Print This ArticlePrint this Article

Send it to a FriendSend it to a Friend

Heartlight encourages you to share this material with others in church bulletins, personal emails and other non-commercial uses. Please see our Usage Guidelines for more information.
Search

      © 2006 Used by permission. From Rubel Shelly's "FAX of Life" printed each Tuesday. See Faith Matters for previous issues of the "FAX of Life."

      Title: "The Devil Made Me Do It!"
      Author: Rubel Shelly
      Publication Date: April 11, 2006

 
Special Features
 
 
Hundreds more articles
like this are in the
ARTICLE ARCHIVE
...or search to find an article by keywords:

  Visit our Sponsors

Heartlight only exists because of your support! Click above to visit a sponsor, or donate to join us in our ministry.

   
May we suggest...
Wild at Heart
by John Eldredge
Wild at HeartHelping men rediscover their masculine heart, this is a guide to understanding Christian manhood and Christian men.

  Find More Books & Music:
Christianbook.com
Rubel Shelly Rubel Shelly preached for the Woodmont Hills Churchin Nashville for thirty years. He is the author of more than 20 books. He has accepted the position of President of Rochester College. For more details, click here or here to email.

RSS Feed of All Heartlight ArticlesAll Heartlight Articles

'Special Features' RSS FeedSpecial Features

RSS Feed of Rubel Shelly's ArticlesAuthor Rubel Shelly

More Heartlight Feeds

Subscribe
Get Heartlight articles and devotionals by email FREE every day!
Daily Heartlight
Today's Verse
What Jesus Did!
Quotemeal

More Information

 

 

RSS Feeds  |  Advertising  |  Support Heartlight   |   Help  |  Contact Us  
HOME     topTOP HEARTLIGHT® Magazine is produced by Heartlight, Inc. HEARTLIGHT is a registered service mark of Heartlight, Inc. PO Box 7044, Abilene, TX, USA 79608-7044. Copyright © 1996-2008. Heartlight is supported by Westover Hills Church, Southern Hills Church, and loving Christians from around the world. Scripture quotations are taken from the Easy-to-Read Version copyright © 2001 by World Bible Translation Center. Used by permission. All rights reserved.