"Who Will You Blame?"

"But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed." James 1:14

Our biggest problem is not everyone else-- it is the person who is looking back at us when we look in the mirror.

We want to blame everyone else for our bad behavior, sour attitude and mistakes. We want to shift the blame to someone else instead of taking responsibility for what we do. The mantra of mankind seems to be- "it is not my fault." Nothing is ever "our fault". We can commit a crime, but it wasn't our fault. We can cheat on our spouse, but it wasn't our fault.

You notice that I didn't say this was a Western attitude or the attitude of a particular culture or of one generation, but of mankind. It's because this attitude of blaming everyone else started all the way back in the Garden of Eden. Eve blamed the serpent and Adam blamed God because they chose to eat from the tree that the Lord had told them not to eat of.

I know that there are some situations where it really isn't our fault. Someone actually did something to us or against us. We sometimes find ourselves in situations that are beyond our control. I am not talking about that. I am talking about those who make excuse for what they did by trying to shift the blame to others. Is that you? Are you constantly excusing your bad attitude by blaming the actions of others for it? Are you indulging in wrong practices but protest that it isn't your fault? Are you one of those who justify the wrong that you are doing because you were treated wrong growing up?

The root of this problem is selfishness. We do what we do because we are selfish and self-centered. We make these wrong choices out of selfish desires. Everything is about me and what makes me happy or makes me feel good. Which takes us back to our opening sentence-- you are your biggest problem-- because you want what you want, when you want it and how you want it. And if you don't get it, then you make wrong choices and cannot justifiably blame anyone else for it.

So really we have no excuse, other than, we did what we wanted/chose to do. The only hope for that kind of attitude is to "die to self" and let someone else live life through you-- that someone else is Jesus. When we are alive in Him, He is living His life through us. He has no excuses for bad behavior, because He never has bad behavior. So the real key to overcoming the problem that is staring back at us in the mirror is to allow Jesus to take full ownership of our lives. When He does, He will bring a transformation in us. We will then walk in the truth, which means we will take responsibility for our own actions and not try to blame someone else.

Have a great day. Who are you blaming for what you are doing?

For further reading:
Genesis 3
Matthew 16:24
Galatians 2:20
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Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell
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