'The devil made me do it' is no excuse
JOE MILLER JR.

Joe Miller Jr. is pastor of First United Methodist Church in Newton.

Genesis 2:15-17 & 3:1-7
Matthew 4:1-11

The Flip Wilson show premiered on Sept. 17, 1970, and was one of the last successful variety shows on television. The show was made famous by character Geraldine Jones' line, "The devil made me do it."

Flip revealed something deeply within each of us. When we do something that backfires against us or brings unwanted consequences, or we sin, it is convenient to blame someone or something else.

The devil is a convenient foil as are family upbringing, friends, environment, various problems, and so forth. If Johnny cannot read, it must be the teacher's fault. She must not like Johnny, and she picks on him. The subprime meltdown that is kicking us into a recession (if it has not already) has only caused a lot of finger pointing, and no one wants to step up and claim any responsibility.

This inability to take responsibility for one's actions was amply displayed in the Garden of Eden by both Adam and Eve. In spite of God's command not to eat the fruit from the tree in the center of garden, Eve could not help herself. Even surrounded by luscious fruit of all kinds with God's blessing on every one, she had to eat the forbidden fruit.

She could not restrain her desire for that which she was forbidden. Readers of this text tend to accuse Eve of deceiving her husband, but the scripture clearly states that he "was with her" during this entire episode. He was witness to the whole conversation with the talking serpent, and he knew God's command just as well as Eve did.

You know the rest of the story, but I point out a few things. Notice the great finger pointing going on. Adam blames Eve, and Eve blames the serpent. In reality, both Adam and Eve knew what they were doing. They chose to disobey God, and they suffered the consequences.

One could question why God put the tree in the garden at all if he did not want them to eat the fruit. I think that misses the point. God gave these two creatures the ability to make choices. He created them for relationship with him and relationship with each other, but they were free to accept those relationships or reject them. They wrecked their relationship with him by disobeying him, and they wrecked their relationship with each other by passing the blame when both were guilty.

Such is human nature; not much has changed. We disobey God's will for our lives, greedily reach for the forbidden fruit of our culture, and blame others when the consequences catch up with us.

The passage from Matthew provides part of God's answer to our human nature. He sent Jesus to heal our nature, forgive our sins, and mend our relationship with God. When Jesus was tempted, he did not give into his human nature and reach for the forbidden fruit. Unlike Eve, who was filled with the fruit of the garden, Jesus had not eaten in 40 days and nights, yet he refused even to make bread for himself.

Of course, we are not Jesus. We are tempted and reach for the forbidden fruit. That is why he came and died for us, and we have the free choice of choosing him for our Lord and Savior. No matter how much forbidden fruit one has eaten, Jesus is there for us.