The Devil Made Me (Not) Do It

Many people are familiar with the expression, “The Devil made me do it,” which was coined by Flip Wilson (as the character Geraldine) in the1970s. This comic relief became wildly popular—as it relieved folks of personal responsibility for their actions. These days, it seems like it would make a convenient excuse for people to justify their inaction.

Years ago, I learned there were 2 types of sin. The first is the one we’re most familiar with—the sin of commission. These are the things that we do, even though we know we’re not supposed to do them. But there second type of sin—the sin of omission. This is when we do not do the things that we know we should do.

For example, if we saw an older neighbor heading home on a rainy day from the grocery store with arms full of bags, everyone would agree that it would be a sin to intentionally push that person over. Yet, I wonder how many of us realize that if we were also headed home, and happened to notice our neighbor from a distance while we were in the comfort of our car (with plenty of space to accommodate another passenger), and we ignored the thought to pull over and give the neighbor a ride, that would also be a sin. Can we commit sin and non-commit sin? Unfortunately, yes.

Let’s just think for a moment about what sin is—it’s anything that is not pleasing to God. So it’s not always just the things we do. Sometimes, it’s the things we do not do. When we fail to show love and kindness to one another, we sin. When we choose to close our eyes and not speak out against an injustice, we sin. Even when we withhold information that could help someone else, we are committing a sin. Proverbs 3:27 tells us clearly, “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.”

Our goal is to please God in any way we can, so we should strive to do the things He wants us to do—even when we don’t feel like it. And even when we’re unsure of how to go about it. We must trust that if it is His will for us, He will equip us with whatever we need to get it done. And great is our reward for our efforts.

Let’s ask for forgiveness for our sins of commission and those of omission—and strive to do everything we can do to the glory of God.