Everyone can probably relate to a story similar to this: You are in elementary school and you are with a group of your friends. Someone in your group, usually the leader, has a crazy idea to do something that is questionable in its correctness. All in the group begin to participate or at least stand by and laugh as the actions take place. Inevitably, when the adult or teacher finally notices, he or she comes over and begins to discipline the person who was “caught.” All the other kids now act as if they had no part in the situation. Soon, blame begins to shift from one person to the next. “Well, Johnny did it too.” “It was Cindy’s idea to begin with.” “Everyone was doing it, why am I the only one in trouble?” No one wants to own up to, and take responsibility for, their actions.
We would hope that this would end in childhood, but it continues on as adults. You see it in the workplace and even more so in the media. We see blame shift in situations such as public shootings, government aid, tragedies, and situations where people are found guilty of crimes. Unfortunately, this issue has been around since the first sin entered into the world.
Read Genesis 3.
“When the cool evening breezes were blowing the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”
“Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.” Genesis 3:8-13
God questioned Adam. Of course, Adam wouldn’t just own up and take the blame. He tried to blame Eve, but ultimately, he even tried to blame God. He had the audacity to say, “it was the woman YOU gave me who gave me the fruit and I ate it.” Adam tried to blame God and Eve, while Eve tried to blame the serpent. No one wanted to step up and admit their sin and shortcomings. As Christians, it is easy to blame others for our sin and the difficulties that we have in our lives. We can blame our past, our upbringing, our influences, and so much more for the sin we struggle with and the way we live our lives. We cannot gain victory over sin that way!
We must admit we are sinners and ask God to strengthen us in all the areas with which we struggle daily. What are some areas, people, or things that we use to excuse sin in our lives? We have to identify those in order to grow in our relationship and truly take ownership of our sin. We will never grow into the believers we need to be until we start taking responsibility for our lives and depend on God to mold us into the Christians we need to be.
This blog was written by Amy Carrico: Author of Making Moments Matter Blog
Last Updated on October 14, 2024
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