The Devil Made Me Do It . . .

How much power does the devil really have over our lives? Often times, we hear someone suggest that the devil “made” me do it, but is this possible?

First, it’s important to understand that there is a devil. The Devil is not a myth or a dark ages phenomenon. The Bible repeatedly refers to the devil. Perhaps the most interesting narrative is Matthew 4:1-11 (see also Luke 4:1-13) where the devil tempts Jesus during his forty days of fasting. The text clearly offsets the figure of Jesus and devil in very real and physical terms. We can be assured that the devil, demons, and hell are very real.

But how much power does the devil really hold over us? We know that all humans are still under the sway of concupiscence, which is left over after original sin is removed through baptism. Concupiscence essentially leaves us weak against temptation and requires that we depend on God for our strength. The devil understands our weaknesses and uses them to attack us in a more efficient way.

But, the devil has no real power. If you go back to the verses quoted in Matthew, you can see that the devil can only tempt; he cannot force Jesus to commit sin or do anything ungodly. This is Jesus, of course, and we are mere mortals, but the Bible is clear for us as well. In the Old Testament, Job is the figure being tormented by the devil and tempted: the devil tempts Job to break from God or at least exhibit anger toward God. But again, the devil cannot actually force Job to commit sin and he even must ask God’s permission before tormenting him (and Job doesn’t have the power of the Holy Spirit on his side).

Perhaps the most straightforward answer is in James:

James 4:7. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Resist the devil and he will flee from you. The righteous have nothing to fear from the devil; God’s word is their shield as Ephesians 6:11 notes. If we resist, the devil has no power to force us to commit sin, so the devil can’t “make me do it” as the old saying goes. The preceding text in James points out that if we don’t fight temptation as we should, it makes us more likely to fight with others. The corollary would be that if we fight temptation as we should, we are more likely to get along with our neighbor (as we should according to the Great Commandment.

The Navarre Bible also refers to another early Christian writer:

When someone resists the devil's temptations, the devil leaves him alone: he cannot force a man to commit sin. The "Shepherd of Hermas" (a work by an anonymous Christian writer, around the middle of the Second Century) elaborates on the same idea: "Be converted, you who walk in the commandments of the devil, commandments that are hard, bitter, cruel and foul. And do not fear the devil either, because he has no power against you [...]. The devil cannot lord it over those who are servants of God with their whole heart and who place their hope in Him. The devil can wrestle with, but not overcome them. So, if you resist him, he will flee from you in defeat and confusion" ("Eleventh Commandment", 4, 6 and 5,2).

So be not afraid, for the devil has no power compared to God and the Holy Spirit (God) is within you. Fight temptation and worry only about pleasing God.

God bless,
Jay