This mechanism for coping with life is as old as Adam and Eve. As a matter of fact, it started with them. The world that God created was perfect in every way. It was a world where there was no corruption, death, or disease. A world of perfect bliss. Joy was a constant emotion. Tranquility and peace were common feelings for the day.
In Genesis chapter 3 the Bible tells us that through the Serpent Satan deceived Eve. She took the first bite of the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. This was the one tree that was off-limits to Adam and Eve. In I Timothy2:14, it tells us Eve was deceived but Adam sinned deliberately.
I Timothy 2:14 “And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.”
That is why in Romans 5:12 we see Adam as the one held responsible for sin entering the world. The blame was also placed on him in Genesis 3:23-24, verse 23 says God banished “him” from the Garden, and in verse 24 God drove out “the man.” Both were guilty, but Adam was held responsible. God established man as the head of the home and he will be held responsible for what goes on in the home.
Romans 5:12 “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”
The very first “blame game” took place in the Garden of Eden. The most beautiful place on earth was now tainted with the ugliness of sin. It was bad enough that they had disobeyed God, but now they would blame someone or something else. They sinned again by not taking responsibility for their sin.
God asks Adam did you eat of the fruit from the tree that I commanded you not to eat? Adam answered the woman you gave me, gave it to me to eat. Not only was Adam shirking his responsibility, but he also blamed the woman and God for his failure. It was as if Adam was saying, it was you God who gave me that woman so it’s your fault. Then God turned to Eve with the question and instead of taking responsibility she blamed the serpent!
Genesis 3:12-13 “And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.”
Why are people so reluctant to accept responsibility for their own actions? Phycologists teach us that not accepting blame is a defense mechanism. It helps us preserve a sense of self-esteem by avoiding awareness of our own failures. Blame is a tool we use when we are in attack mode and we are trying to hurt someone. Blame means less work, we don’t have to be held accountable for our actions. It’s really the opposite of being responsible. Blaming can also be an ego move. It is a form of social comparison that is status-seeking. If you blame someone, it puts you in the superior seat, making you feel more important and the ‘good’ person as opposed to their ‘bad’. Then there are those who use blaming to make themselves a victim. This is still an ego move, when you put yourself in the ‘poor me’ mode it means you get everyone else’s attention and are still the ‘good’ person.
All the components of playing the “blame game” are a form of selfishness and that is a sin. Unless sin is dealt with and repented of it will cause one sin to pile up on to another. Adam and Eve committed the first sin, but they also continued to sin, even in the presence of their creator. This seed of sin was passed on through man.
I can’t help but believe that both Adam and Eve regretted deeply their disobedience to God. It wasn’t many years down the road when their own son Cain killed his brother, Able. After he murdered his brother God came and ask him what he had done. His response was a lie! He shifted the blame of his brother not being there into a question. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Bible commentaries believe the language here used to answer God was very arrogant. It was as if he was disputing the right of the Almighty God to make such a demand. Again, the undertone is blaming God.
Many today get angry with God for circumstances in their life. Many act and live, as if God has no right to their life. They get angry with the one who can help them, the one who loves them most, and the one that longs to be their refuge. As my grandmother would say, “they are biting the hand that feeds them.”
Do you treat God this way, acting as if he has no right to your life? Do you blame others for the wrong in your life? If the answer is yes to either of these questions, then you are guilty of the same sin that brought the whole world under condemnation. The only solution is repentance.
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
