Author Vicki Halsey, Ph.D. addresses an important cultural lie in her daily blog. She writes, “One of my pet peeves is people who use their personality as an excuse for their behavior. “I can’t help it, that’s just who I am” is often uttered to rationalize or justify an action, position, or attitude. In some ways it’s almost the perfect defense to any argument, isn’t it? ‘You mean you want me to change who I am?’”¹ The point Vicki is making is that our society has been brainwashed into making excuses for bad behavior rather than standing up and taking responsibility for doing wrong. Instead of making excuses for bad behavior, Vicki is advocating we choose to make an intentional change toward correct behavior. The Word of God teaches the same thing.

In Proverbs 25:28, King Solomon writes, “He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.” In biblical days, tall, thick walls encompassed ancient cities. They protected against invading armies who would come in and destroy the inhabitants. Walls that were broken down essentially invited others to conquer the city. In the spiritual realm, a Christian who does not control his own spirit, [one’s thinking, actions, and attitudes] is leaving himself open to the attack of Satan and the flesh. Instead of leaving ourselves so vulnerable, we need to take responsibility for bad behavior and take control of our spirit. Our victory must be through God’s power, but we have the obligation to yield our spirit to the Lord and control it. This is why, throughout Scripture He gives us commands such as “use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh…”(Galatians 5:13), “…let not sin therefore reign…” (Romans 6:12), and “let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth…” (Ephesians 4:29). God expects us to control our spirit, rather than allowing it to control us. When we fail, let’s own up to it rather than make excuses.

Have you believed the cultural lies that you can’t help sinful actions or that they‘re not your fault? Let today is the day you take responsibility for wrong behavior, choose to control your spirit, and ask God to help you to do both.