Good Morning to All,
2 Samuel 12:13; “David said to
Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.”
In the early to mid-1970’s, there was a variety comedy show called “The
Flip Wilson Show.” He had many different
characters that he would play in the sketches that they did. One was when he would dress up as a woman,
her name was Geraldine Jones. She was flamboyant
to say the least. She would get into
some sort of fix or trouble and her retort would always be, “the devil made me
do it.” If she was late getting home
from a party, well the devil made me do it.
If she backed her car into somebody else’s, well the devil made me do
it.
It was kind of funny because for a while it was kind of a catch phrase
for a lot of people. In many ways it
still is. It is handy to say and it
solves a lot of problems. It also shows
what is pandemic in human society. If
something is wrong, it is not my fault.
The devil made me do it. I had no
control. It was as if some force had
taken control of my body and made me say those cruel things, made me steal
those items, made me get drunk or high, after all, the devil made me do it.
We like to blame the devil or anyone else for that matter. It makes us the victim. The victim is always the oppressed one who
suffers at the hands of others. The
events that occur to a victim are beyond the control of the victim. Someone who is robbed at gunpoint can do
little to stop the perpetrator. The
victim is always at the mercy of circumstance and situations which are beyond
his control. He cannot stop it; he has
no control; the devil made him do it.
The problem with thinking we are the victim is that it is untrue. The devil did not make me do it; I made a
choice to sin. I actively opted for sinning. I decided which path to follow. The devil may make suggestions but I choose
the path. Our answer is not what
Geraldine Jones said; our answer is what David said, “I have sinned against the
Lord”. I did it, I made me do it not the
devil. My sin is my sin, I caused it, I
did it. It wasn’t someone else’s
fault. That other person didn’t make me
sin, I sinned. That other person didn’t
make me do it, neither did the devil; I did it I chose to sin. I chose because I am weak. I chose because my sinful nature makes it
impossible to choose otherwise.
But God has mercy on us. He says
to us what Nathan said to David, “The Lord has put away your sin.” God has taken your sin and forgives you. This is the only way it will work. We are too weak to fight it on our own, so
God does it for us. Now he gives us the
power to say “no” to the devil. Because
of his grace the devil did not make me do it.
His grace will lead us away from sin if we follow.
Father
of grace, we are before you as broken sinners.
I have sinned against you in thought, word and deed. But I find refuge in you and safety in your
arms. Protect and strengthen me from the
devil’s attacks. Be with those who are
most vulnerable at this time. In Jesus’
precious name we pray, amen
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret
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