Read: The Blame Game (Page 9)
Genesis 3:12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
If there is one characteristic that goes all the way back to the first man and woman it is the tendency to look for a way to blame someone else for our own failures. Therefore, this tendency is nothing new nor is it anything to feel too discouraged about.
The thing to do is be on your guard when this tendency tries to arise in your heart and be ready to diffuse it with the right response. One man was responsible for some mistake, and his boss asked him, “Who did this?”. The man said, “I wish I could say someone else”. He was indicating that it wasn’t someone else, it was him. He had the right response!
Now that Adam had a fallen nature, he seems to have rationalized to himself, “Surely there is judgment coming, so let me direct it away from me as fast as I can”. While he was busy rationalizing, he should have been realizing character goes a lot further than blaming others does!
What would have been the right response? We can probably answer this question with all kinds of possibilities. One may say, “Take the blame” another may say, “Deny it until the bitter end!”. Rather than playing the blame game, it would no doubt have done Adam better to just admit, not only that he made the mistake, but that it was his mistake and not someone else’s.
Ever since this day, men and women have been going from problem to problem. What people could correct and overcome in a matter of moments, they endure for years and decades believing that one day it will all work out, but until then, it must be someone else’s fault.
Even if you’ve inherited a problem that was caused by someone else, it may not be your fault, but it has become your responsibility. So, let’s handle it responsibly because blaming others is a no-win game that goes nowhere fast!
*This post is part of a teaching curriculum based on John Maxwell’s leadership devotional book entitled A Leader’s Heart.
If you would like to read John’s words, you can follow the paid link to purchase this book by Clicking Here.
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