Sunday, October 06, 2013

The Blame Game

Welcome to the story of my life... I would like to think that I invented the Blame Game, but when you look in the pages of Scripture, you find it with the first man and woman, "The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate." Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (Genesis 3:12-13). If you are guilty of this like I am, you see very quickly that Adam and Eve started playing this "game" a long time ago. Adam blamed God for giving him the woman and Eve blamed the serpent. Seems typical to how things are even today.

If you remember correctly, I think the Israelites were professionals at this. When something didn't happen according to their plans, they blamed God, or Moses, or whoever was their particular leader at the time. The Pharisees of the New Testaments seemed to be big advocates of this game. The scary thing was that they blamed Jesus when he performed a miracle or broke one of their religious traditions.

Looking closely, I'm pretty awesome at finding people to blame. My circumstances, something that happened as a child, a loss in my life, the people around me, friends, my husband, the stranger at Target, and the list could go on and on. I like to make excuses for my sin, like I didn't mess up here it was really because of him or her. Maybe you are like me and know all the rules and how to best get out of the situation. When I was a teenager and young adult, to play the blame game, I added some lying in there. Why I thought it was good idea to compound one sin with another, I have no idea. The worst thing about the blame game is the more you play, the easier it gets.

In the middle of all this craziness, my overwhelming desire is to say STOP!!!! Stop doing this to yourself and other people around you. Accept that you are at fault, repent and move on. It sounds sooooo easy to say and often so hard to practice - this is me preaching to myself.

Small rabbit trail... Adam and I were talking the other day about the richness of Scripture. If you don't believe it's power and practicality for life, then you are truly missing out. I've been so challenged by God's Word in the last few days and what it means to follow Jesus. In the book of Mark, Jesus gave some big responsibilities for those who were going to follow Him..... “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. (Mark 8:34-35). We talked about whether people want to know what it says and live by it or are more comfortable with not reading it, cause then I am not convicted to repent and change my ways. The Bible is rich whether you believe and accept its truth or not. One of the greatest things the Bible is rich on is GRACE.

Yes, I believe that Grace is the solution and end of the blame game. If anyone is qualified to play the blame game, it should be Jesus. He could cry out, "Because of you, I took on sin and the wrath of God." He could, but He didn't. Instead the book of Isaiah gives these words,
He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
Isaiah 53:3-5.

Because Jesus didn't play the blame game, according to these verse I receive peace, healing, and grace instead of being punishmed for the sin I committed. That's why grace is so beautiful and gives me the strength to stop playing the blame game. As Paul David Tripp says so eloquently, "Grace is for the willing, and we only become willing when we confess not only the gravity of our sin, but our inability to deliver ourselves from it. Then our willingness opens to us all the sustenance of heart that can only be found in the Son. So today, may you confess your weakness and seek after the abundant grace made new every morning." One of my weaknesses is blaming others, so I will seek grace today. May God be so good to you today that you see your weakness and rest in His grace to overcome. 

1 comment:

Ralph said...

Well said, my sweet niece! Too many times, it is so easy to blame someone else instead of admitting our own indiscretions. May each one of us confess our sins, and pray that God will forgive and lead us to live our lives as He directs! Amen.