The Blame Game

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton

It is hard to name a sin where the sinner accepts responsibility for his own choices. It is so much easier and soothing to accuse other people. Adam blamed his choice to sin on his wife. "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate" (Genesis 3:12). But it was worse than that, he blamed God for giving him the woman in the first place. He implies that if God hadn't blessed him with a wife, none of this would have happened. Yet, Paul points out that when Adam ate, he wasn't deceived. "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression" (I Timothy 2:14). He knew he was sinning against God but did it anyway. Eve was tricked, but she too blamed someone else for her weakness. "The serpent deceived me, and I ate" (Genesis 3:13).

God doesn't play the blame game. "The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself" (Ezekiel 18:20). I think that is why He insists that the sinner confesses his sins. "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:8-9).

As wisdom says, "But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul; all those who hate me love death" (Proverbs 8:36).

Don't play the blame game. No one ever forced you to smoke pot. No stress in your life forces you to light up. It wasn't accidental. It didn't "just happen." You chose to sin either willfully or by deceiving yourself. Either way, the result is the same.

Either way, the exit door is in the same spot. One of the requirements to open the door to forgiveness is to accept your responsibility for your actions and the consequences you brought upon yourself.