The Devil Made Me Do It!

I wonder how many people got away with murder using that phrase. LOL Throughout my life, being brought up in a spiritual home, I can recall hearing people say “it’s not them, it’s the devil” when people did something wrong.  I now realize that people used it as a means of excusing  our human sinful nature.  Instead of accepting and taking responsibility for our actions we rather take the easy route and make excuses.  I am not denying evil influences, mental illness, and lack of coping skills; I am however unmasking the use of it as an excuse for our wrong doing.  We underestimate the power to choose. 

A mistake is very different than a choice.  

Mistake: An error or fault resulting from defective judgment or deficient knowledge.  A misconception, misunderstanding or misinterpretation.

Choice: OPTION.

Simply said, when we make a mistake, we do something unknowingly.  We didn't mean any harm, but we misinterpreted/ misunderstood a situation to the point of causing us to act under mislead judgment resulting in a mistake. 

Example: I meet a person, I get to know them and they seem to be trustworthy enough for me to give them a key to my house. When I return home, I've been robbed. MISTAKE

~versus~

I meet an ex-convict that just came out of prison after serving time for robbing a convenient store.  I give them the keys to my house. When I return home, I've been robbed.  CHOICE. LOL I knew facts that could have saved me.

Things like this happen to us time and time again throughout our lives.  We put our trust in people and they become either a blessing or a lesson.  This is part of life.  What shouldn't be part of life is excusing our actions or the actions of others to avoid consequences.  In the end, what we truly avoid is theirs or our own, growth and maturity. 

The next time we or someone we know is sorry for something they have done, don't accept "the devil made me do it" as an answer… analyze it, was it a mistake or a choice?  When we put that into perspective we can either be truly sorry and change our ways or learn our lesson and change our ways. Either way it should not be repeated.