Just a Thought: Blaming others for our failures doesn’t fix anything! We need only go back to the first family to see where the blame game has its start. God created a perfect environment in the garden at Eden. He then created perfect people and placed them in this perfect place. Daily the couple enjoyed the fellowship of God. How He walked with them in the garden we aren’t told. Maybe the Lord took on a body that hid His glory as He did when He visited with Abraham. But however He did it, He walked with them daily until one day. The day Adam sinned (1 Tim. 2:13-14). On this day, the eyes of the couple were opened. On this day they were filled with guilt and shame. On this day they hid from the Lord. When the Lord came to walk with the couple they were afraid and hid. When the Lord called out to them “Where are you” He was seeking accountability not information. But instead, what He got was the birth of the blame game. Having disobeyed the Lord by eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil which God had forbid, “The man said, “The woman you put here with me — she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” (Gen 3:12) Now, it is true. Eve was deceived by the serpent and ate of the forbidden fruit first. But it was to Adam the Lord gave the instructions and He willingly ate of it with her. What did blaming Eve get Adam? Where he had life, he gained death. Where he had pleasure, he now had pain. Where he had abundance, he now had to struggle to have a meager substance. Where he had fellowship with the Lord, he now had separation and conflict. In other words, blaming Eve got Adam nothing! Blaming others for our failures doesn’t fix anything! The mere fact that the Lord had already told Adam what the results would be if he disobeyed the Lord’s command would have made God righteous and sovereign if He would have just pronounced judgment the moment Adam disobeyed. But, instead as an act of grace God came looking for Adam. As an opportunity for open, honest accountability the Lord inquired of Adam. But, like the late great Billy Sunday once said, “The reason sinners can’t find God is the same reason the criminal can’t find the police, they’re not looking for them!” The Lord does not ask questions of us because He needs information. He is all knowing. The Lord asks us questions about our sin as an act of grace and an opportunity for us to be honest about our sin and confess it so He may forgive it. It wasn’t until the couple owned their sin and became open about it that the Lord could deal with it and offer them salvation from it. Don’t lose sight of the facts. God came for Adam. Adam heard God’s voice. And just as it was with the first couple, there can be no forgiveness of sin without confession (1 Jn. 1:9). When the Lord confronts us about our sin, don’t hide. Don’t make excuses. And don’t blame others. Take responsibility and confess your sin and receive God’s gracious forgiveness.
