Why Do People Sin When They Know It's Wrong?

After a short period of righteousness among the Nephites, they began to become wicked again. This verse describes their actions:

"Now they did not sin ignorantly, for they knew the will of God concerning them, for it had been taught unto them; therefore they did wilfully rebel against God."
3 Nephi 6:18

Why do people sin when they know it is wrong to do so? I would love to hear any thoughts that readers of this blog might have- feel free to leave a comment!

I know there are dozens of reasons. Pride, for example, could cause someone to do something wrong knowingly because he or she has a reputation to keep. Someone may justify sins as he or she seeks for power, riches, or prestige.

Satan is a tricky devil, a very good devil at that. He has been doing what he does for a long time, and he has learned how to put attractive wrapping paper and flashy ribbons on the most dangerous packages. One may think that a single pornographic image is harmless, one drink of alcohol won't hurt, or a few slots at the casino is "just for fun". However, any of these actions would allow Satan to tie a small, weak string around your wrists. It is easy enough to break free at any time, so it doesn't worry you. When you take another look at that picture, go out for another drink, or move to the poker table, another small, weak string is added. You know you can break free of those weak strings so you disregard them. As this pattern continues, you find yourself trapped, imprisoned to the father of all lies, the devil. Though it's easy to break free of a couple weak strings, it is near impossible when it becomes a rope.

I guess to summarize that story in a way that answers the question, we too often underestimate "little sins" because we underestimate the devil who is working full time to bring us into captivity to himself.

This reminds me of what the prophet Nephi taught:

"And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell."
2 Nephi 28:21

Too often we have a sense of false security and allow ourselves to be led "carefully down to hell." We don't realize it until it's almost too late.

It is never completely too late, unless we die in our sins, because Jesus Christ atoned that we might be forgiven of our sins if we will repent and follow His gospel.

We can never say "the devil made me do it" but most of the time we can say "the devil convinced me to do it, but I made the choice." Satan won't pay the price of justice for the sins we commit, we will.

Let us open our eyes and realize what little things we may be doing in our lives that put small, weak strings around our wrists. Let's discover the tricks that Satan uses to deceive us and "convince" us to sin.