We all know people who always find someone other than themselves to blame for their failures. Some drug addicts blame their parents for their drug abuse. Then they blame the police for picking on them unfairly; their counsellor for not being able to solve their problems; the government for not providing enough funds for education and rehabilitation: and so the blame game goes on and on. While no one can deny that environmental factors affect our choices blaming others to excuse our behaviour is often just a way of trying to justify unacceptable behaviours.
Whenever there is denial in a person’s life they will never be able to overcome their failures. The blame game has been going on since Adam and Eve. Adam blamed the woman when confronted by God for eating of the forbidden fruit. Eve then blamed the serpent and as the joke goes the serpent was left without a leg to stand on.
Many people are aware of the account in the Bible where Kind David commits adultery and then has the husband of the woman murdered. In Psalm 51:4 we read of David taking responsibility for his horrendous crimes. He did not blame the woman for bathing in his sight, or his parents for doing a bad job, or the pressure he was under in ruling over a nation at war. No doubt some of these factors influenced David. His conclusion was “Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done evil in Your sight, O God”.
Change commences with people taking responsibility for their actions. Some people go through all of life and are still blaming God, parents, governments and others for their failures. Others who have come from tragic backgrounds with many failures take responsibility for their lives and break free from excuses.
When God sent His Son to earth He sent a Man who was perfect. All people fail miserably when they compare their lives with Him. He came to help those who realise they need help, to heal those who realise they are sick, to comfort those who realise they are lonely and to save those who realise they were lost. We have all failed in some area of our lives. There is no shame in failure. There is shame however in blaming everyone and everything else for our failures. It takes humility to face up to our failures. Pride is what causes us to blame others for our problems. God opposes the proud but comes to the help of the humble.