A Devil of an Ego

"The Devil made me do it!", is a sentence used to indicate a lack of control, a shoddy sense of discipline, a capitulation to a power outside one's own sphere of influence.

That last paragraph is just slightly less confusing than most folks' conception of what the "Devil" means and what "he" does...

Being spiritual demands a certain discipline. It's not easy, not "natural" for "intelligent animals".

Here's a few more of my beliefs:

We're both spiritual and animal, at least while on earth.

The "devil" is our uncontrolled use of our egos.

True spiritual living is arduous and not "natural" for the part of our nature that's fleshy and "of the earth"...

So, now, I'll quote what I feel is a marvelous statement that sums all this up (from the compilation, Reality}:

“Arise, O people, and, by the power of God’s might, resolve to gain
the victory over your own selves, that haply the whole earth may be
freed and sanctified from its servitude to the gods of its idle
fancies—gods that have inflicted such loss upon, and are
responsible for the misery of their wretched worshippers.”

Bahá’u’lláh: Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 86