The Blame Game

Monopoly... Hopscotch... Twister... Pin the Tail on the Donkey... Guesstures....

Games are either played for sheer enjoyment or--for the more competitive players-- for the sheer enjoyment of winning. Why is it, then, that we insist on playing some games that are not enjoyable and are not even designed to have a winner?

In Genesis 3:12, God asks Adam a question regarding his actions, and instead of a direct answer, he responds with, "The woman..." Likewise, God asks Eve a question about her actions and she responds with, "The serpent..." In both cases, neither Adam or Eve were willing to take responsibility for their own actions. They chose, instead, to play the Blame Game.

Any of you that have or spend time around children recognize when one child is trying to place blame on someone else. It's much like the situation with Adam and Eve--you ask one child about his or her actions and the immediate response somehow involves someone else's name.

Some of us never outgrow the blame game. We refuse to take responsibility for our own actions and try to rationalize or excuse our behavior. Sadly, this perspective even spills over into our spiritual lives as some of us even dare to blame God for our troubles. We get angry at God for choices that WE make, as if God exists only to please us and make life nice, neat and pretty for us so that we never face hardships in this life.

We even use natural disasters as an opportunity to question God's existence. "How can a benevolent God allow or cause such destruction?" we ask. Reminds me of what one of the thieves said to Jesus on the cross, "if you are the Son of God, get us down from here!"

With that logic, God can only be God based on a humanistic, self-centered definition of God as a being that eliminates all suffering in this life. The problem is that, the things we blame on God are often tragedies that result from human failings, not God's.

The Washington Post ran an article on 2-23-10 by Joel Achenbach entitled, Under the World's Greatest Cities, Deadly Plates. The article was about massive earthquakes, like the one that recently devastated Haiti. It explains, "It is not the tremor that kills people in an earthquake but the buildings, routinely constructed on the cheap, using faulty designs and, in some cities, overseen by corrupt inspectors. The difference between life and death is often a matter of how much sand went into the cement or how much steel into a supporting column. Earthquakes might be viewed as acts of God, but their lethality is often a function of masonry. "

So, instead of insisting on higher standards for engineering and construction of buildings and providing the resources for the improvements, we shake our fists at God and use our pain as a convenient excuse for rejecting God's commandments or for outright rejection of God's existence.

Why is there poverty and suffering in the world? The reasons are too varied to sum up here, but there is certainly a measure of human greed, evil and indifference involved--none of which characterize God, but all of which can characterize us.

Let's not blame God or others for the misfortunes we experience in life. No one wins at that game--neither the "blame-er" or the "blame-ee." And, disappointments in life (which are most likely traced back to some man-made failure or shortcoming) should not be used as an excuse to throw our faith away and do whatever "feels right." For, there is a way that seems right unto a man, but the end is destruction.

God's ways may not always be crystal clear to us, but that's where faith and trust come in. A speaker at a marriage conference I recently attended said, "I don't understand everything I know." I love it! Just think about it. How many of us really understand the intricacies of how various technologies work? We don't understand how they work, but we know with full confidence that they do work.

If national or personal tragedies and challenges have shaken your faith, don't just blame God and turn away. That's an easy way out, but a difficult road back. It's o.k. to ask God "Why?" as long as you are willing to spend some quiet time actually listening to and reflecting on God's response, not your own answers. Do some soul searching about what the challenge may be showing you about yourself and areas where God wants to draw closer to you and strengthen you.

Let's help the blame game become like an old worn out game that hasn't been played in so long that no one remembers how to play it and no one would want to play it even if they could.

BNcouraged!

Rev. Karen