The Blame Game

When my children are standing before me, having to answer for a mess, fight, or something broken, it doesn't take long for the Blame Game to start. The "He said/ He did" argument jumps into full swing and I begin to sort it out. But not without an eye roll or two.

Parents have seen the Blame Game played by their children for generations. It really isn't limited to children. Adults play the Blame Game with each other as well. Not only with each other, but with God! I myself am guilty of blaming God when, if I were to look beyond my emotion in the moment, I would see how my own frailties and decisions are to blame.

Immediately after the fall in Genesis, sin engulfed Adam and Eve. Take a look at their first conversation with God after they ate the forbidden fruit and their eyes were opened:

Genesis 3:8-13
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 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.”


Both Adam and Eve willingly ate the fruit that God forbid them to eat. But when God confronted them, neither took responsibility for their actions. Adam blamed Eve and God. Notice when he said, "The woman YOU put here with me..." 
And Eve blamed the serpent. What causes a person to push blame onto someone else? I believe fear is most often the motive.

1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Just moments prior, Adam and Eve were perfect in love. They had never felt fear before, and they had never before faced punishment. But immediately after sin was present in their lives, so was fear, and motive to blame. It's a heartbreaking story of humankind made perfect in love by a perfect, loving Creator, only to be soon entrapped by sin, guilt, shame and blame.

 Thoughts for the Week:
1. When was the last time you blamed someone for something you really carried responsibility for?
2. Was fear your motive?
3. Are you currently blaming God for something in your life, that you possibly carry responsibility for?