The New Devil

When I was growing up, my father, a minister, would preach about the need for taking personal responsibility for sins that we commit. He would talk about how people loved to blame something or someone else for the mistakes they made, citing the song lyrics, "The Devil made me do it."

In a recent "Breakpoint" article, Charles Colson discusses the new "Devil". Now, our society blames their failings on a variety of causes--alcohol, stress, racism, sexual abuse by priests, a bad childhood--everything but ourselves.

If you ever doubted the complete triumph of the therapeutic culture in America, look no further than this week’s news. Take NASA for example. How did it respond to the sad and bizarre story involving a love triangle and an astronaut charged with attempted murder? It wants to tighten psychological screening procedures for astronauts! Now, I find it hard to imagine more rigorous screenings than those already given to naval aviators and astronauts.

How about sin? It doesn’t take rocket science to figure out what happens when you crowd attractive men and women into a space capsule.

Or take the recent case of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. Following his election in 2003, Newsom was considered a rising political star. Times have changed: Now, he’s the butt of late-night comedians’ jokes, and his political future is, at best, uncertain.

A few weeks ago, Newsom confirmed reports that he was involved in an affair with his campaign manager’s wife. He claimed that he was “deeply sorry about that,” but then announced that he was “seeking counseling for alcohol abuse.”

“Upon reflection” he told reporters, “I have come to the conclusion that I will be a better person without alcohol in my life.”

His three key words: How about sin? In today's postmodernism, where right and wrong are in the eye of the beholder, sin has no place in the discussion. The concept of sin implies a standard. A standard implies an authority that is higher than ourselves. And man's nature is to rebel against authority.

Here's an ironic thought: all of the daytime talkshows like to urge us to just look within ourselves for strength during adversity. No need to appeal to a higher power for help. It's right there inside of us. But yet when we fall short and just plain screw up, it is no longer ourself that is to blame. It's [fill in your excuse here] that's to blame. In the end, though, we will all be held responsible for our own actions. God help us all.