Don't blame the devil...

Catch someone in an bad act, and he blames the devil for it.

Why exactly?

Nobody wants to take responsibility for their actions. It reminds me of Adam and Eve. I usually wonder if God would have reacted differently if they owned up to their wrongs rather than throwing blames.

When God asked Adam, "Who told you you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?"

In response, Adam blamed his wife and indirectly blamed God at the same time.

"The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the fruit and I ate."

Paraphrasing what Adam said, "It was the woman You gave me. If You didn't give her to me, all of this would not have happened. After all I never asked You for her. It's also Your fault!"

That way Adam pushed the blame to Eve. And God turned to Eve and asked her,

"What is this that you have done?"

The woman pushed the blame to the serpent, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

Then God went ahead to pronounce His judgement on the three of them - the serpent, the woman and Adam.

But do you think God didn't know the answers to the questions before He asked them? So why was He asking those questions?

Was He giving them an opportunity to own up to their sin and repent? To take responsibility for their actions?

I believe He was. I also think that His pronouncement would have been more lenient if only Adam and Eve fell on their faces and said, 

"Yes Lord, we ate of the tree. We have sinned and we deserve every punishment You'd give to us! We are sorry we disobeyed You."

Yet He is so merciful that even in the face of high treason, God set rolling the redemption plan when He said to the serpent, 

"I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed: He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise His heel." (Gen 3:15)

When you do wrong, ask God for His mercy and forgiveness. Take responsibility and repent of it. He is merciful and just to cleanse you from all unrighteousness.

David knew this about God in Psalm 51 when he said, "A broken and contrite heart You will not despise."

Read through the entire Psalm 51. It is the Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him after he committed adultery with Bathsheba.

That's the kind of response God wants from us whenever we do wrong.

David said, "For I acknowledge my transgressions...Against You only have I sinned and done this evil in Your sight. You are right in judging me. You are justified in condemning me.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and Renew the right spirit within me (Ps 51:3,10)."

God is a good good Father.

So, don't blame the devil. Blame yourself for the choices you make. You have a free will to choose right or wrong.