The woman below replied, "You’re in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You’re between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude."
"You must be an engineer," said the balloonist.
"I am," replied the woman, "How did you know?"
"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is, technically correct, but I’ve no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I’m still lost. Frankly, you’ve not been much help at all. If anything, you’ve delayed my trip."
The woman below responded, "You must be in Management."
"I am," replied the balloonist, "but how did you know?"
"Well," said the woman, "you don’t know where you are or where you’re going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise, which you’ve no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it’s my fault."
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We’ve been doing it (blaming others for our situation) since the beginning. Adam said to God when caught in his sin, “The woman you put here with me, she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
In Genesis 16 there is an amusing story. Abraham’s wife, Sarai, has not been able to have children and she knows that God has promised a son to Abraham through whom a great promise is to be fulfilled. She’s feeling the pressure and tells Abraham to have a child with her maidservant. Please understand that this is not an endorsement for such actions. I am just telling the story. Well, the servant began to despise Sarai and it angered Sarai. She said to Abraham, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering.” It was her idea but now Abraham’s fault.
We live in a world where criminals blame society, blame parents, blame abusers, etc. for their actions. As horrible as their pain and what brought the pain is we still cannot place responsibility for our actions on someone else. Those things in the past might help us understand our tendencies or our confusion so that we can take responsibility, correct our actions, and move forward, but we cannot excuse our actions because of them. Sometimes this even works the other way. Parents try to take blame for their children’s actions to protect them by saying, “It was my fault. I was a bad parent. If I’d done this or that or been better at ???? then they would have turned out differently.”
“The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him.” Ezekiel 18:20 (NIV)
Neither am I talking about sitting around in a self destructive mode. “It’s all my fault. I’m no good. I may as well kill myself. I can’t do anything right.” That is just a destructive as avoiding reality by shifting blame.
“Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load.” Galatians 6:4-5 (NIV)
We certainly need to care for others just do not compare ourselves to others. We need to recognize our mistakes and our successes with great humility taking responsibility for our mistakes and giving all the glory to God for any success we might experience.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me today to stop the human habit of shifting blame, and not get caught up in the pride that comes with success. All that I have is because of Your grace. Help me to step beyond my past that has kept me from embracing the future You have planned for me. Today I take responsibility for my actions and decisions, and release the guilt and condemnation through Your incredible, amazing grace. AMEN.
Blessings!
Pastor Roger
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