Own Up Like a Grown Up!

(Excerpt from The Pastor Is In)

Man has been playing the blame game since the beginning of time. When he was called to account, the first words out of Adam’s mouth were, “It was all that woman’s fault!” Then when it was Eve’s turn, we heard the very first declaration of a refrain that’s been echoing ever since: “The devil made me do it!”

Mankind seems to have a genetically-encoded propensity to pass the buck.

Blame really doesn’t solve anything. It’s a pretty good pacifier to quiet your conscience, but it’s ultimately ineffective. Regardless of to whom you try to assign the guilt, if you were involved, you are still accountable. Why haven’t we learned that lesson yet?

When you tried to justify your bad behavior as a child by telling what a brother or sister did first to “make” you do what you did, you still got punished. Maybe your sibling was disciplined too, but blaming him or her didn’t take you off the hook. Telling your parent that you weren’t the one who started it or that all of your friends were doing it too did nothing to remove your personal responsibility in the matter.

On top of that, blame stunts personal growth. As long as you keep evading responsibility and shifting blame for your shortcomings to others, you remain in a state of spiritual infancy.

The more accustomed you become to assigning your guilt to someone else, the easier it gets for you to persist in your wrongdoing. When everything is always someone else’s fault, your conscience gradually loses power.

Sincere confession doesn’t say, “I did it, but…” Sincere confession that truly sets you free to move forward simply says, “I did it.” This is a sure sign of maturity.

Is there something in your life that’s still dogging your steps because you’ve tried to assign the guilt to someone else rather than owning what’s yours?

Are you hurting an important relationship by stubbornly standing your ground of denial and blame?

Are you spiritually stagnant because you refuse to grow up and admit your faults?

It might make you feel better for a little while, but playing the blame game always ends in a loss.