Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. - Psalm 119:105

Discipleship

Blame SHIFTING

By Dr. Richard J. Krejcir
As soon as man sinned, he quickly commenced to blame others. One of the effects of sin is the refusal to take responsibility for our actions.

         "The man said, The woman you put here with me‑‑she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it. Then the LORD God said to the woman, What is this you have done? The woman said, The serpent deceived me, and I ate." (Gen 3:12-13) 


        As soon as man sinned, he quickly commenced to blame others. One of the effects of sin is the refusal to take responsibility for our actions. This is the attitude, which is so popular today from young people to Presidents. This is the favorite manner in which most people handle guilt, which is they blame others. They do this for two reasons:  


§         First; they do not want to live with guilt.  


§         Second: they do not want to suffer the consequences of their actions.  


        Blaming others allows an escape mechanism, like an ejection seat that avoids the consequences (crash = suffering) by bailing out. However, this is not as effective as most people think. Freeing the burden of guilt by escaping only puts it off until later, while in the meantime it grows and spreads out of control, and continues to gnaw away at our conscience. So this defense mechanism only makes matters worse. "Blame Shifting" can be illustrated by visualizing an old fashioned scale. As one side of the scale becomes increasingly loaded with the weight of guilt, the guilt ridden person just shifts the guilt to the other side of the scale. And we all do this by blaming others.


        There is just one problem with this (okay a lot more problems), the act of blaming others instead of taking the responsibility for one's own actions flies in the face of the Gospel. It is unjust and serves only to increase the guilt and the problems we incur with others in our relationships. This becomes a pattern of dysfunctional behavior that is an endless loop of a hopeless cycle.


        In spite of Adam and Eve's "Clinton-isk" slick blame shifting, God held them accountable and they suffered the consequences of their disobedience.  


        "To Adam he said, Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, You must not eat of it, Cursed is the ground because of you." (Gen 3:17)  


        God not only held him responsible for his action, He also held him responsible for listening to the voice of his wife (the influence of others!!!) instead of listening to the voice of God. His excuse only served to increase his personal responsibility and guilt. We must learn that God does not allow us to avoid the consequences of our actions by blaming others. In fact we are held responsible for blaming others. We may think we can get away with it as certain presidents have, but make no mistake, if we fail to hold each other accountable for our actions, you can be sure that God will hold us responsible.  


        "So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way." (Romans 14:12-13)  


        On the day of judgment, there will be no opportunities for blame shifting. Those who have cleverly "Clintonized" the laws of God will one day discover that God and His Law are inflexible.

 

 


© 1986, 2000 R. J. Krejcir Into Thy Word Ministries www.intothyword.org

Get Connected

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest YouTube RSS Tumblr Instagram

Latest News

 

New: Year End Repot

 

TWyearend2016.pdf

ITWyearend2014.pdf

 
We have a wondrous new tool to help you in your Bible reading efforts!
 
A Bible reading checklist in "Excel" that keeps track of your progress with all kinds of cool graphs and tracking features along with stats on words, verses, encouraging facts, etc. This is also a fund-raising opportunity for us that we think could be a successful addition to your church or ministry spiritual arsenal.
 
Buy Now
 
We need your Partnership!
 
 
We are a ministry making a difference for the Kingdom of God, and...
A great way to raise funds for our ministry and you can make money too!
 
It is a community of committed believers serving the Lord in a center for research and practicum.
 
New Funding Project! RealEstateProject.pdf
 
ITW Radio Opportunity We as a ministry have a wonderful opportunity before us and we need your partnership!
 
Growing in Christ is the key to growing a faith, a family and a Fellowship!
Schaeffer Institute
Mission America Coalition
Bible Reading Plans
Print Version
Friendly
Delicious Save this on Delicious Share on Tumblr
Sign Up
For Our E-Newsletter
© 2007 - 2024 Into Thy Word - All Rights Reserved.