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SCRIPTURE - GEN. 3:11-12                                                  APRIL, 1998

And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

SUBJECT - THE BLAME GAME!!!

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Have you ever wondered, why it is, that whenever a person gets caught during, or after committing, a crime, or sin that they will try to give an explanation for it, by saying that they did it because someone, or something caused them to do it??? Well, if you will look at the scripture above, you will see the beginning of what I call, the blame game.

It all started with Adam, in the garden of Eden, when God, who had previously warned him not to eat of the tree in the midst of the garden, questioned him on his answer to a question. Adam's response, if you will look at it, is much like what we tend to do today, though few of us go to the extreme that Adam did.

Notice his answer. "The woman You gave me......." Adam, in his excuse, blamed the woman, and God.

The bible says, that the woman gave the fruit to Adam, and he did eat, which is what God told him not to do. But, Adam, realizing the trouble he was in, by disobeying God, tried to put some of the blame on God, Himself. Adam, was in effect saying, "You gave me this woman. If You had not given her to me, then I wouldn't have disobeyed You. It's your fault."

Does this sound familiar to you, concerning your lives, or the lives of someone you know??? No?? Well, let's look at some of the ludicrous things that I have heard from people I know, or have heard commenting on their wrong doing.

There have been times, when a person is arrested for a crime of assault against someone else, will say, that the victim(s), 'made me do it.' That means that the victim(s), grabbed this person, and used his hands, feet, or some weapon, to beat themselves nearly to death. Or maybe they put this person in a trance and caused them to do it. Other times in wrongdoing, they will use the excuse, 'everybody's doing it.' Still other times, they will blame the person that arrested them, or the judge that will judge them, or even the law itself, all in an attempt to cast the blame for their actions on someone, or something else.

Well my friend, you may scream and holler, and blame your actions on whatever, or whomever you like, and you may get away with it before man, but as I have said before, that doesn't hold a drop of water, to what God says. If God has said something, then you either are going to accept or reject it, in which case, you will either reap the blessing, or curse that you deserve.

[Ga 6:7-9] Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. The scripture is saying that all of the attempts that we may use, to avoid punishment for something that we have done wrong, may help us, in front of man, but we still have to face God, and He knows the truth. God, does not play by our rules, He goes by His rules. If we do good, He will bless us. If we do wrong, then we are headed for punishment.

Why do people do wrong? There are many factors. All of which, God has addressed. Because of the constraints of space, I won't address them all individually, but you can find them in [Ga 5:19-21] Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. All of these, are what's known as 'works of the flesh.' That means, they are things that a person will do, based on their own mindset, or personality. For example, let's look at wrath [anger]. All of us, at one time or another, have been angry because of something that was said or done to us. Different people, have different things that make them angry. And the responses to this anger, come forth in varying ways. Now, the bible says, [Eph 4:26] Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: In other words, it is O.K. to be angry, but don't let it cause you to sin, by doing one of the above 'works of the flesh.' This is why Jesus says, [Mt 5:44-48] But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. He is saying, if we claim to be His followers, then this is what we should be doing.

Every problem we have in society, can be traced back to one thing, and that is, people that have responded to a problem the wrong way.

During our lives, Jesus said, that the 'sun and rain', fall on the just and the unjust. The sun, meaning blessing, and the rain, trouble. So, there is no difference between what happens to you or me. However, when trouble comes, the way we deal with it, shows just what we are really made of. Most of us, and I am including myself, know what is right and what is wrong, not only according to the laws of man, but the commandments of God. And as long as everything is going good for us, then we have no problem, doing what is right. But, let something cross our paths, that gives us a reason to sin, then what will we do??

Adam, only had one thing to obey, and he was doing all right, until Eve, gave Him the forbidden fruit, which, by the way, was not an apple. That was when, he had to make a decision, and he made the wrong one. Now, everything happened, just as he said, but, God, did not accept it, because Adam, disobeyed Him. Adam should have refused the fruit, but he didn't. Now that I think about it, that is one of the reasons that Jesus may have been referring to when He said in [Mt 5:37] But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. When God asked him the question, all he needed to say was 'yes', then wait for God to respond maybe with another question. But, he went on to put the blame on Eve, and God. Do you see the picture here??
        
Just like today, every temptation to do wrong, always leaves you with two choices. They are, to do it, or not to do it. That is your choice, and you will have to live with it.

But, everyone, including myself, seems to be trying to find excuses for their wrongdoing. And let me tell you, if and when I do it, God reminds me, that I had a choice, and chose the wrong one, and now I want to deflect part, if not all of it on someone, or some thing else. Some times, on the job, you miss a job, or mess something up, and when asked about it, you might try to blame the tool, a co-worker, the line, or any number of things. Now true, these other things may have had a part in it, but, if we examine ourselves, we can find that, if we had not been doing what we were doing, at that particular time, then we quite possibly, may not have messed up.

The blame game, not only pertains to these areas, but extends far beyond that.

People, tend to blame their conditions, either economic, or social standing, on others. They use racism, conspiracy, political agenda, and many other excuses, to explain their actions, and the condition they are in. And, if they can't find any one to blame, they will get a lawyer, and they will surely find one.

Many times in court, victims, are put on the spot, by defense lawyers, who try to imply that the victim did something to cause the person they are accusing, to do what they did to them.

When we look at the condition of our society, each of us, has had a part in how it has gotten to where it is. The condition of our families, neighborhoods, cities, and state, rests totally on what we do individually or collectively. Therefore, when things go wrong, rather than saying it is our fault, we will blame people outside of our realm of control for what goes on in it.

Parents, who have kids, who are unruly and out of control, will blame everyone else for their child's bad behavior, rather than

looking at how they have raised them. And while this is a natural reaction, it sets up, in the child's mind, that any thing they do wrong, is not their fault, but someone else's. Therefore, when they grow up, they still have this mentality, that if they do wrong, it is because someone else caused them to do it. That's the reason why you use that same line of thought, when it comes to you , and your kids.

All of the works of the flesh, as described earlier, are inherent in all of us. And, none of them, can be made manifest (displayed), without an act of your own will. In other words, you and I, have a choice, on how we respond to different situations. We don't always have to go along with the crowd, or retaliate, or attack someone, or even suffer in a situation, simply because someone says that is what we should be doing.

Look at Jesus Christ. Here was God in the flesh, who had the power, to destroy the whole earth, if had wanted to, being beaten, and spit upon, used and abused, mocked and tormented, yet He chose to remain faithful to what God, the Father, said He must do, to reveal the power that we all, that are saved, have, over these things.

There is no reason to steal, because your family is hungry. There is no reason to commit fornication or adultery, because 'nature' arises. There is no reason to go and injure or kill someone, because they 'dissed' (disrespected) you. Even if they killed some member of your family. That is what God set up the law, for. And if the law doesn't get them, remember, God will, when the time comes.

The day will come, when we will have to stand before God, and give account for the things we have done in our bodies. And on that day, just like Adam, and Eve, they gave excuses, and God punished them anyway, for the simple reason, that they had the choice to do right, and didn't.

What are you going to say to God, for your sinful ways?? Are you going to try to blame someone else?? Or like Adam did, are you going to try to blaspheme, and blame God, like the homosexuals try to do, by saying, He (God), made me this way??

When God, asked Adam, had he eaten of the tree, He wanted to give Adam the opportunity to answer the question with a 'yes' or 'no' answer. If He had wanted to know why, He would have asked. Even though the bible doesn't address it, and this is purely my speculation, I believe a bigger curse came on him, and us, because he said more than what God wanted to hear. Remember the scripture earlier [Mt 5:37] But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

Taking the responsibility for our own actions, is what we should be about doing. That is a sure sign of being mature. Only kids, try to blame others for their behavior. Which one are you????

NEXT MONTH'S MESSAGE - EYE FOR AN EYE !!!
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