LUCIFER AMONG US

In the Bible the character Lucifer is known as a fallen angel and the main antagonist of God. Originally God’s favorite angel, he attempted to usurp his master. Lucifer lost the battle, and was sent out of heaven to rule his own kingdom, the lake of fire.

Throughout time Lucifer has been used as a scapegoat for people’s misdoings. The reason is that it is often easier for humans to believe that somebody else is responsible for our mistakes. But truth is, we all do stupid things. And we are perfectly able to do them without being lured by the devil.

Everyone can make bad choices. It may be that we made a decision in haste and did not know all the facts. A confident person has the ability to break this trend, that is, to make new decisions independent of his or her previous mistakes.

However, from cognitive psychology we know that a person with a negative self-image is not able to break such a trend. That person will try to make things right by justifying previous mistakes when continuing in the same track, rather than admitting that he was wrong. In order to justify past behavior he will compromise present judgment.

You are responsible for your own mistakes

Going back to Lucifer, it is easier for humans to believe that someone else is responsible rather than living up to our own faults. Was Lucifer to blame for Eve eating the apple in the Garden of Eden? Is Lucifer to blame for people cheating on the tax-return or doing drugs?

The answer is no. People choose to do these things; it is a result of human greed or weakness. What the weak person needs to do is to learn from his mistakes and cut his losses. If you have made a faulty decision, like going to a football game that turns out to be a cold and boring affair, just leave. You don’t need to sit two hours in boredom catching a cold just because you made a previous mistake of buying a ticket.

Or, if a person started studying at a certain school or university because it felt like the right thing to do. Then things go rather poorly, and it becomes obvious that this was not the right career path for her. What she needs to do is to change directions. That is, choose another field of study or a work-career. What she should not do is to continue on the wrong path as an attempt to justify her previous wrong decision.

Everyone can make mistakes; the wise choose not to repeat them.