I remember as a child doing something wrong, and yet I sought to blame my brother or sister. I learned very early how to prove my point so that I would not get the punishment I deserved. The only windows ever broken in my parents’ home were broken because of my brother and me. I was not the one who actually broke the windows, but I was the one who agitated or tricked my brother into doing it. I was just as guilty, yet I managed to justify myself because he physically broke the window. It was within my power both times to change the results and save the window, but I didn’t. I was the baby of the family, and like all babies, I got picked on by my older siblings, so when I saw the opportunity to retaliate, I took it. I knew exactly what to say to shift the blame from myself.
Blame shifting is not a recent invention of the mind. It started in the Garden of Eden, after Adam and Eve disobeyed God, resulting in the first sin. Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the Serpent. If you read the text closely, you will see that Adam actually blamed God. He said, “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.”
Genesis 3:6-13 “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 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.”
Before we are too hard on Adam and Eve, we need to think of our own lives. How many times have things happened, and we have blamed God? “God, that wouldn’t have happened if you would just do this.” In essence, we are telling God He could change our circumstances, and everything would be fine. The truth is that God could change things because He is God. However, He created us with a free will and, therefore, the ability to choose. Having someone love you because you made them isn’t love at all. God wanted us to love Him of our own free will, and from that love should come obedience.
John 14:15 “If ye love me, keep my commandments”
If we love God, we will want to obey Him. The more you love someone, the more you want to please them. We need to stop blaming someone else for our situations, our problems, and our sins and take ownership. The issue is not others, it’s our love for God that governs what we do. If we love ourselves or others more than we do God, we will yield to things that are not pleasing to God. We will find ourselves in situations that we could avoid if we always put God first. Many consequences could be avoided if we loved God more. Blame shifting is a sin. At its root, it is a lie. We have accused someone else of our actions. Take responsibility, repent, and forsake. When you take full responsibility for your actions, you will see a greater need for God. This should cause you to love Him more. It makes me stop and think how a perfect God could love and forgive such an imperfect me. Stop the blame game!
