In May 2015, 23-year-old Dominyk Antonio Alfonseca walked into a bank in Virginia Beach, VA and handed the teller a note demanding money. About 20 minutes after the robbery, police officers located Alfonseca and took him into custody.

When a news reporter spoke to him in jail, Alfonseca said he didn’t really rob the bank. He just “asked for the money.” He said, “I don’t know how I’m a robber because I asked for it. She could have said no, and I could have left. I didn’t consider it robbery. The way I see it is, by law I might be guilty, but my logic I’m not. I feel like I’m innocent by logic.”

The courts apparently don’t like the “innocent by logic” defense as Alfonseca has been found guilty in a court of law of robbing the bank.

We may find his attempt to avoid prosecution humorous, but we hear people do the same thing all the time (and probably catch ourselves doing it as well).

* I’m not doing something as bad as what someone else is doing.

* Someone else made me do it.

* It’s my parents’ fault because of the way they raised me.

* It’s society’s fault (or television, or video games) because of their influence.

* I was drunk when I did that, so I shouldn’t be held accountable for my actions.

“By God’s law I might be guilty, but by my logic I feel like I’m innocent.”

God has never been one to accept rationalization. He didn’t accept it from Adam when he said, “Eve made me do it.” He didn’t accept it from Aaron when he said, “I threw the gold into the fire and this calf popped out.” And he doesn’t accept it from us. But what God seeks is not prosecution. What he desires is reconciliation. And he knows that the only way that can happen is for us to drop all of our excuses and simply be honest about our sin.

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:8-9)

Regardless of what we feel by our logic, we are all guilty of breaking God’s law. The sooner we admit that, the sooner we can find reconciliation.

Have a great day!

Alan Smith Innisfil, ON, Canada