Maybe everyone can relate to a story similar to this: You’re in elementary school and you’re with a group of your friends. Someone in your group, usually the leader, has a crazy idea to do something questionable. Everyone in the group begins to participate or at least stand and laugh as the events unfold. Inevitably, when the adult or teacher finally notices this, they come forward and start disciplining the person who has been “caught.” All the other children now act as if they had no role in the situation. Soon the blame begins to shift from one person to another. “Well, Johnny did too.” “It was Cindy’s idea at first.” “Everyone was doing it, why am I the only one in trouble?” No one wants to acknowledge their actions and take responsibility for them.
We hoped this would end in childhood, but it continues as we grow older. You see it in the workplace, and even more so in the media. We see blame shifting in situations like public shootings, government aid, tragedies, and situations where people are convicted of crimes. Unfortunately, this issue has been around since the first sin entered the world.
Read Genesis 3.
“And when the cool evening breeze blew, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking 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 said: I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.
“Who told you that you were naked?” asked the Lord God. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” The man replied: The woman you gave me is the one who gave me the fruit and I ate it. Then the Lord God asked the woman: What did you do? She replied: “The serpent deceived me.” “That’s why I ate it.” Genesis 3:8-13
God asked Adam. Of course, Adam won’t just confess and take the blame. He tried to blame Eve, but in the end he tried to blame God. He had the audacity to say: “The woman you gave me was the one 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 come forward and admit their sins and shortcomings. As Christians, it is easy to blame others for our sins and the difficulties we face in our lives. We can blame our past, our upbringing, our influences, and much more for the sin we struggle with and the way we live our lives. We cannot conquer sin this way!
We must admit that we are sinners and ask God to strengthen us in all the areas in which we struggle daily. What are some areas, people, or things that we use to justify sin in our lives? We need to identify these 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 begin to take responsibility for our lives and depend on God to shape us into the Christians we need to be.
This blog was written by Amy Carrico: author of the Make Moments Matter blog
Last updated on October 14, 2024
