The blame game

August 8, 2020 (Saturday)

 

After shame comes blame. Blame is an attempt to shift personal responsibility for our actions, attitudes, and choices to others. You may not control your circumstances, but you can control your responses. Generally the symptom of blame is when we are justifying our actions, attitudes, and choices.

 

Trying to justify himself, Adam tosses out TWO accusations, blaming others. “The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” [Genesis 3:12 NLT] Adam directly blames “the woman” (Eve), thus continuing and deepening the separation naturally due to sin. Indirectly Adam blames God (“you gave me”).

 

Eve gets a turn next, “The Lord God said to the woman, “What have you done?!” And the woman said, “The snake tricked me, and I ate.” [Genesis 3:12 CEB] Eve basically said, “the Devil made me do it.” In a sense both were correct. Eve would not have sinned if she had not been tricked by the Devil. Adam would not have sinned if Eve had not given him the fruit. None of this would have happened if God had not created the woman. (Sarcasm alert: keep dreaming.)

 

What Adam and Eve are saying is God created something flawed. That God was withholding good from them. This echo’s Satan’s lie to Eve. In that moment humanity missed a chance to repent. Already they had become stubborn, refusing to take responsibility. Sin. Selfishness. Shame. Stubbornness. Stupidity.

 

So God “cursed” humanity. I’m not sure that’s the correct way to say it. It’s more like God let humanity live with the consequences of what they had done. In a sense, they chose to be cursed. Just like people willfully chose a literal eternal Hell over a loving God. Stupidity follows stubbornness, always. Stubbornness is the child of selfishness and the grandchild of sin.

 

In the darkest moment of human history, God gives them hope. Speaking to Satan, God promises, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”[Genesis 3:15 NIV] This is called the “protevangelium.” It’s a Latan word meaning “first good news.” It is a prophecy that someday the “offspring” of the woman (not the man) would deal a fatal strike to Satan’s head. (Get it? Jesus was born of a virgin.)

 

God’s intention was to crush Satan, who deliberately poisoned humanity. This was done at the cross. As Jesus shed His blood, He provided atonement (covering), redemption (payment), and pardon (freedom) for our sins. This was done at the empty tomb. As Jesus rose from the grave, He shattered the power of sin and death over those who would follow Him. This will be done at Jesus return. As Jesus returns to reclaim His creation, the Devil and his minions will be condemned to the eternal Hell designed for them.

 

Getting back to the blame game they played that day, God doesn’t even bother with it. Blaming does not change the fact. Blaming does not excuse responsibility. Blaming accomplishes exactly nothing. Zilch. Zip. Nada. Squat. Zero.

 

Stop blaming someone else and take responsibility for your own attitude, choices, and actions. When you do that, you might find it the beginning of repentance. Without repentance there is no salvation. So if you are still blaming someone or something, how can you be saved?