10/25/14: The Devil Made Me Do It! This is an excuse often used to explain some misbehavior, when the decision to “do it” was made by the person’s own will. It is a matter of “assigning blame”. The most extreme example of “assignment of blame” is when a murderer is caught in the act with multiple witnesses and says, “God told me to do it”.
At some point we must take responsibility for our actions as much as we would like to deflect them to some other entity. I recall a young person I knew who always deflected with the statement, “See what you made me do.” A child might get away with such a statement when it is seen as humorous, but the Word says, “out of the mouth the heart speaketh”. There is no word without meaning. This person kept the same philosophy long into adulthood. Unfortunately the humor was gone, and the consequences of such a philosophy did not produce a healthy happy life but an early demise.
The truth is that our issues in life are directly related to our decisions and the consequences thereof. At least mine are. We are to take responsibility, not “assign it”.