I just heard an incredible story about rationalizing wrong behavior. A friend told me that while he was in graduate school one of the professors often told the students that the human mind has in incredible capacity to rationalize any behavior it chooses. During that time, there was a problem on the campus with food theft and this professor was the unofficial “Food Nazi” – always trying to catch the culprit.

At the end of the year, it was discovered that this very professor had been charging the university for personal driving for three years on an expense account- basically stealing gas money. Guess what else? She was the food thief! And how did she rationalize what she did? She said it was to compensate herself because her salary didn’t properly match her educational level. WOW!

If she fell for it even knowing the mind’s proneness to justify itself, is anyone immune? NO! That’s why we all need to build accountability into our lives. The Bible confirms it is needed. Jeremiah 17:9 says; “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?”

Is there a little lie your heart is cooking up right now? One that says; “It’s okay because…you deserve it, you should have it, you need it.” Don’t wait to be turned into a thief or liar or adulterer; find a trusted spiritual partner to help screen your moral decisions.

Do it! You’ll be less likely to rationalize when you have someone godly standing over your shoulder.