Sometimes bad things happen in our lives. Sometimes it’s our fault. Sometimes it’s not. But, things go wrong. People make mistakes. People make bad choices. People do the darnedest things. But, curiously, there is often a tendency in many people to blame others for their own mistakes or bad choices. After all, who among us really wants to jump up and admit when we have done something wrong? It just seems to be part of human nature to want to blame someone or something else for our imperfections. There is an interesting account in the book of Genesis about what happened when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate of the forbidden fruit. We are told in Genesis 3:4-13… 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. 8 And they heard the sound 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 among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” 12 Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” 13 And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Notice that both Adam and Eve were filled with shame. They covered themselves up and tried to hide from God. And when they were questioned about what they had done, they both tried to blame somebody else! Adam blamed Eve, Eve blamed the snake and the snake didn’t have a leg to stand on. Not much has changed since the time of Adam and Eve. People are still ashamed of their mistakes. They still try to cover up their mistakes. They still try to hide their mistakes. And they still blame others for what they themselves have done. When Moses came down from the mountain with the Ten Commandments engraved upon the stone tablets he found that his brother, Aaron, had made a golden calf for the Israelites to worship. Moses was not happy, of course. In Exodus 32:21-24 we are told… 21 And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?” 22 So Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord become hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. 23 For they said to me, ‘Make us gods that shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 24 And I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.” Who was at fault for the idolatry of the golden calf, Aaron or the people? Aaron would have us believe that the blame was all the people’s fault. They told him to make them gods. And oddly enough when Aaron threw all of their gold into the fire… Shazaaam… a golden calf came out! It was like magic. He made it sound like the golden calf appeared all by itself. Hmmm… So often, when bad things happen and people cannot or will not admit to their part “magic” happens. For example, a wallet “disappears into thin air.” An expensive vase or valuable family heirloom is damaged “all by itself.” A car is dented, a windshield is broken, a tire is flattened… and “nobody knows what happened.” And then the blame shifting begins. Maybe it was the Jones’. Maybe it was the Millers. Maybe it was the Smiths. And yet, often times the one who is most adamantly blaming others is at fault. Aaron blamed the people. What did he say to Moses? “You know the people, that they are set on evil. 23 For they said to me, ‘Make us gods…” And then the golden calf magically appeared out of the fire… as if the fire was to blame! There is “fire” in our lives from which “golden calves” of lying, stealing and cheating magically come forth. We don’t want to admit when we have been wrong so we try to justify our behavior. Our sins and mistakes are always somebody else’s fault. They are to blame. “I lied to you because you lied to me.” “I stole from you because you stole from me.” “I cheated on you because you cheated on me.” And on and on it goes. So… who is to blame when we sin? Some have tried to justify their sins by the concept of generational curses. Surely sin IS passed down from generation to generation. In Exodus 20:5 God says… For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me. And it IS true. Sin IS passed down from the parents to their children from generation to generation. And nowhere is this concept more pervasive than in modern psychology where the behavior of violent criminals is to be compassionately understood as a result of their dysfunctional upbringing. We are told that the predator’s abductions, rapes and murders of innocent victims was ultimately the consequence of the offender having been raised by abusive parents. Hurt people hurt people. You see, the disciples of Jesus Christ understood this also. They understood that the iniquities of the fathers would be passed down to the third and fourth generations. That is why they asked Jesus a most important question in John 9:1-2… 9 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” It appeared obvious to the disciples that some terrible sin had occurred that the man was born blind. They wanted to know who was to blame. So, it must have come as a total surprise to them when Jesus replied in John 9:3… 3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.” Neither the parents nor the son were to blame! Sometimes bad things happen and none of those we might suspect are at fault. As difficult as it may be to understand sometimes God just wants to reveal something about his nature to us when “bad” things happen. In the case of the man that was born blind God had chosen and predestined him before he was born to receive healing through Jesus Christ so the miraculous power of God would be revealed. Sometimes parents with disabled children must endure the raised eyebrows and whispered gossip of those who seek to find blame for the condition of their children. Some might assume that the parents of such a child must have committed some horrific sin in order for God to allow such a thing to happen. Parents of disabled children are shunned and ignored, judged and condemned, mistreated or discriminated against. Disabled children are treated even worse. And why? Because there are those whom would rather find fault in others than admit their own guilt and shame. Remember what Aaron said to Moses? “You know the people, that they are set on evil.” Aaron was quick to shift the blame to others rather than admit his own fault. And yet, this is what people so often do when they are guilty of sin – shift the blame. The question I have for you today is… have you been shifting the blame? Have you been blaming someone else for something that you should take responsibility for? Maybe someone is upset with you because of something you did, but you are not willing to admit your fault. If you have been a blame shifter, confess your sin to God and to the person you have offended. Ask for forgiveness. The Word of God tells us in James 5:16… Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. And in 1 John 1:9 we are told… If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Posted on: Sat, 14 Sep 2013 13:37:30 +0000
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