The Blame Game - Taking Responsibility In A World Of Excuses Series

The Blame Game - Taking Responsibility in a World of Excuses

Genesis 3:8-13

We live in a word of excuses. Here are some complied by the Readers Digest that have been offered for not showing up for work:

"I dreamed I was fired, so I didn’t want to get out of bed."

"I was up all night arguing with God."

"A raccoon stole my work shoe off my porch."

"I wasn’t thinking and accidentally went to my old job."

"While rowing across the river to work, I got lost in the fog."

"I didn’t have money for gas, because all the pawnshops were closed."

"My dog dialed 911, and the police wanted to question me about what ’really’ happened."

And for not doing your homework, RD reported on the following excuses:

“Another pupil fell in a lake, and I jumped in to rescue him but unfortunately my homework drown.”

“My father had a nervous breakdown and he cut it up to make paper dolls.”

“I didn’t do it, because I didn’t want the other kids in the class to look bad.”

http://laughs.rd.com/content/printContent.do?contentId=164876&KeepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&height=500&width=790&modal=true

But perhaps the most creative, and disappointing excuse I found was one that was offered for not filing your taxes. The offender was Charles J. O’Byrne, the top aide to New York governor David Paterson. He neglected to file tax returns for five years. The lame excuse: He suffers from a medical condition called late-filing syndrome, which is caused by depression. And even though this depression did not stop him from being a highly functional professional or enjoying an active social life, it did seem to affect his ability to pay taxes—five years in a row. http://laughs.rd.com/clean-jokes-and-laughs/21-lame-excuses/article166260-3.html#slide

We live in a society of victims

- frivolous lawsuits

- Deceptive diagnosis (Alcoholic, sexual addiction, ADHD). Just this week, US Congressman Anthony Weiner claimed that he needs time to “recover” in a treatment center after his anonymous sexual messages and self-revealing pictures were discovered.

- government handouts

- Bailouts and welfare

THE BLAME GAME is not new. IT comes from our FALLEN NATURE.

We discover the blame game in Genesis 3. It is the record of the sin, exposure, confrontation and consequences of Adam and Eve’s sin. It is God’s revelation to us of the events that occurred in the Garden of Eden. It also represents the pattern of sin and our reacion to our fallen nature. The events in the Garden are a pattern for the manner in every other human has responded to the sinful condition in which we are born.

First, the First Couple’s response reveals Our NATURAL Reaction to the EXPOSING HAND of GOD. Gen 3:8

Here, we find that Adam and Eve respond in the following ways.

We HIDE. Gen 3:8 “they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” We do the same thing. We hide:

From our parents

From our spouse

From our friend

From our church

From GOD.

Notice Genesis 3:9. God asks, “Where are you?” As we mentioned before, this is the SECOND question in the Bible. It follows the question that Satan asked, twisting God’s Word to deceive Eve. God’s question reveals that we cannot hide from Him! Psalm 139:5–7 "You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. " "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. " "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? "

Jonah illustrates the result of hiding from the Lord.

Proverbs 15:3 "The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good. " (See also Luke 12:20; Proverbs 6:15; Ecclesiastes 9:18; Isaiah 47:11)

The second thing that we do when our sin is exposed by God is that we PRETEND that we’re OK. Notice Genesis 3:10 "He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” Adam does not immediately confess his sin. He wonders to himself, “Will I be discovered?” We call this avoidance. We call this denial.

I do not agree with the concept of the 12 step program because it mixes Christian values with secular psychology. But the first step in the 12 step program is one that does find biblical support. It begins with a recognition that I have a problem. (From there, the 12 step program fails to label the problem as sin, and only vaguely addresses that the solution to the problem is found in repentance and forgiveness based on the finished work of Christ on the cross).

We tell partial truths. For example, when news first broke about Congressman Weiner’s shameful behavior, he admitted only partial truths, hoping that his answers would suffice.

The third thing that we find in Adam’s reaction, and also common to us is that we ADAPT to our environment. We make good use of our surrounding environment. Adam “Hid among the trees of the garden” We abuse the very things God gave for our enjoyment!”