The Blame Game

And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 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.” (Genesis 3:11-13 NIV)

God got right to the heart of the matter. He said to Adam, “Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” Can you see what God was doing? He was giving Adam a chance to repent. So Adam said, “You’re right, God. I’m so sorry for what I did.” No, he didn’t! Instead, he said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Who’s fault was it? “The woman!” It’s good men never blame women for our sins today, right? Wrong!

Eve wasn’t any better. She said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” “I couldn’t help it, God. It’s not my fault. It’s all because of the serpent!” All it took was a couple hours for the fingers to start pointing, the excuses to start flying, and the sins to start multiplying. In other words, the blame game.

This is our world, isn’t it? No one wants to accept responsibility. We can always find someone else to blame. The more sinful Adam and Eve became, the more they look like us. Shame. Fear. Hiding. Lying. Blaming… Repeat. Shame. Fear. Hiding. Lying. Blaming… Whom are you blaming in your life right now?

The devil must have been laughing. He loves the blame game! Because the devil knows that as long as Adam and Eve—as long as you and I—are blaming others, we’re not repentant of our sins. As long as we refuse to admit that our sins are our fault, we’ll never look to Jesus for his salvation.

So, before you point your finger at others, listen to this: “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9). What a promise! When we confess our sins, God forgives! When we hear that promise of forgiveness, we can put our blaming fingers down. Instead, we humbly say, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13) and trust in Jesus’ forgiveness.

Dear Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner. Amen.