Don't Blame Me! Series

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to Memorial!!! I have with me today a pointer. I am going to use it today because I have always thought it was cool when the teacher would point to things on the board. You know a pointer is interesting because when the teacher wants you to look at something she directs your attention by pointing at it with the pointer. She might say, “This is a map of the United States.” She will take the pointer and point at a state, “What state is this?” Everyone would say, “Mississippi.” I don’t think there are that many teachers who use pointers anymore but there are millions of people in our society that carry them around everywhere they go. They may not carry one exactly like this one I have but they constantly trying to get everyone to look at someone else when things go wrong. People in our society love to point the blame onto someone else.

If we are late for work, don’t worry, we can blame the traffic. If our kids go haywire at school, its ok, we can blame the teacher. You pull through the McDonalds drive through and order a cup of coffee, steak & cheese bagel, & hash brown. As you are driving off trying to eat the messy bagel you spill the coffee all over your lap. Its not your fault. Its McDonalds fault for making the coffee to hot. You are driving 65 mph on the Pontchatrain Bridge & the speed limit is 45 mph. You meet a Louisiana Highway patrol who gives you a whopping ticket. Its not your fault because there are only two speeding signs on the long bridge. Do you see how easy it is to point the blame to someone else?

CURRENT EVENTS

The definition of blame is to hold another person responsible for perceived faults, be those faults real, imagined, or merely invented. If you have turned on your TV this week you have seen how Michael Vick pled guilty to dog fighting charges against him. Vick really owned up to what He had done but the media had a field day. One guy said that it was the hip hop culture that caused Vick to do such a thing. Another reporter said that Vick had a terrible experience with animals as a child and therefore had no respect for them. Take the I-35 Bridge that collapsed in Minnesota some weeks ago. Have you heard the latest theory? They are blaming it on Pigeon Poo. They said that the acid in the poo caused the metal on the bridge to rust more quickly. The Virginia Tech Massacre was in the news again this week as the President of the campus was finally cleared of charges against his responsibility in the murders. The most ridiculous thing that I have heard of is when Roy Pearson, a judge in Washington D.C. took his dry cleaners to court over a lost pair of pants. What was a $10 cleaning bill somehow escalated into $67 million. He said that he had been through turmoil over the pants and wanted to wear them on his first day on the bench. The two Koreans won the case but now owe over $100,000 in legal fees. The truth is this guy was looking for someone to blame for his unhappiness. This is the culture in which we live.

Have you took time to notice the not responsible signs around you. This week at a restaurant I ate at I noticed a sign by the coat rack that said, “Management Not Responsible for harmed or stolen garments in this area.” For those of us that fly, have you ever read the fine print on your airline ticket? It says that the airline industry is not responsible for delayed flights or missed connections. If you do happen to lose your luggage, yes, they will pay an amount, and only the amount, agreed upon around 1962 in some obscure conference in Las Vegas. Try parking your care in an expensive lot in the French Quarter of New Orleans. You will see the “Not Responsible For” sign. If your care is stolen or damaged they will not be responsible. I was behind a dump truck Saturday and you know what I read. This truck is not responsible for cracked windshields or chipped paint. I think I will get a sign and put in on the front of the communion table that says, “Not responsible for conviction of sin or life change.” And God better beware or he might find himself in court for not answering prayers.

BIBLICAL BLAME

PIN BLAME ON FAMILY

All this pointing and blaming didn’t start yesterday. If you look back to the oldest relationship it is there. I am talking about the first man and first woman. They were created in a perfect environment, but God said don’t eat from that tree. They said OK we won’t eat from that tree. God left. They ate from that tree. God came back and asked, “Did you eat from that tree?” What was Adams response in Genesis 3:11-13? “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I ate. (vs. 12)” This is the first instanced of blame. He said it was that woman. He did like so many of us have done, and attempted to pin the blame on his family. I can’t count the number of times I have heard people say I am the way I am because of my parents. My parents painted the room the wrong color. They used the wrong type of diaper or wrong brand of pacifier. My mom dressed me funny as a kid is why I act the way I do. Well, whose mom didn’t dress them weird. Then we grow up and we take the blame game to a whole new level in marriage. I was standing in a coffee shop the other day and a man and women with a little boy was in front of me. The little boy playing and all of a sudden he stopped and began to pick his nose. The mother looked at his father and said with a sneer, who taught him to pick his nose in public.” The dad said, “you know what happen when we live him with your parents.” They just kept pointing to someone else.