Introduction – The “Blame Game”
Have you ever blamed someone else for something wrong that you did?
Maybe there have been times when you’ve said things like, “The devil made me do it,” or “She started it!”
If you’ve ever reacted this way (and we all have) then you’re no stranger to the “blame game.”“We naturally seek to blame everyone else for our sins.”
Our propensity to throw others “under the bus” isn’t new. Its been going on since Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden.
Adam
Because of this, we naturally seek to blame everyone else for our sins.
While blaming others might seem to be advantageous at first glance, we will see in this Bible study that it only leads to heartache for both believers and non-believers.
We will also look at how to properly respond when we are confronted with our sins, and why such a response frees us from the problem of following our own morality.
Adam’s Self-Centered Reaction
Notice how Adam reacted when God asked him if he had eaten of the tree.
Adam played the biggest blame game in history; he immediately pointed the finger at Eve and blamed her.
You can hear the arrogance and pride in Adam’s voice – “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree.”
Adam’s denial and pride were so great that he not only blamed Eve, he also blamed God by implying that he had made a mistake when creating Eve.“When his sin found him out, none of God’s precepts mattered to Adam. He was only concerned about himself.”
In that moment God’s laws and blessings meant nothing to Adam. It was all Eve’s fault and God’s too because he should have created a better person for him.
It did not matter that Eve (and all women) are precious gifts from God (Gen. 2:18), that God set ground rules for Adam’s protection (Gen. 2:17) or that Adam was to lovingly lead Eve and not allow her to fall into sin. (1 Cor. 11:3, Eph. 5:25)
Arron
The same line of denial continued in later generations. Israel grew impatient waiting for Moses to arrive, so they made their own plans and constructed a golden calf to worship. When confronted by Moses, Aaron defended himself by saying, “You know how prone these people are to evil. They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us… They gave me the gold, I threw it into the fire, and out came the calf.'” (Exodus 32:22-24) At no point did Aaron accept personal responsibility.
Ahab
I Kings 18:9-10, 16-18 — Blaming God, blaming others for our troubles
I kind of think that Ahab just brushed off Elijah as some kind of kook after Elijah prophesied that there would be no rain in the land for three years. Otherwise, Ahab probably would’ve tossed him in jail.
But it didn’t take long for him to realize that Elijah’s words were true. But Ahab didn’t blame himself for the drought and the famine that ensued. He blamed Elijah. And so he went throughout all of Israel, and from kingdom to kingdom searching for Elijah. And when those rulers said he wasn’t there, he made them swear it.
When Elijah finally came to confront Ahab, you can see the bitterness just dripping off of Ahab’s lips.
Is that you, you troubler of Israel? (17)
- Recognize when you’re blaming your circumstances or other people.
- Recognize that you and every person in your life are equals.
- Own your own story.