How are you tempted to blame, or stated another way, to "finger point?" Let's be realistic: It's difficult to take responsibility for a negative, for shortcomings, for sin. We can be tempted to blame-shift by...
- A well-meaning person bringing us correction
- An unkind boss rebuking us for a mistake
- A problem brought to our attention for which we view someone else as fully or even partially responsible
- The desire to impress others
- The fear of man--the goal to avoid specific people from knowing we struggle with a certain sin
- Unwillingness to admit to a large or grievous offense we committed
- A far-too-high and great opinion of our own selves!
And, of course, the list is virtually endless.
The "Why" Question
So why is it so hard to take responsibility for such things? Because we are proud beings in need of humility. We want to appear more Godly than we are. We want others to think highly of us. We are power-grasping, glory-loving, esteem-craving beings in need of a Savior.
Let's visit Scripture for a short moment and let God speak to this issue:
"For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned" (Romans 12:3)
We see our prime struggle stated clearly in the preceding verse. We have a hard time taking responsibility because we "think of [ourselves] more highly than [we] ought to think."
The REAL Culprit
So in reality, who's to blame for our sin, our shortcomings, our failures?
Pride is the culprit.
...
Which, translated, means we are the culprit!
Why us? Because it's our pride. It's our desire to compete for God's glory which He will share with no one (See Isaiah 42:8)! It's our sinful desire to look good for the wrong reasons. It's our idol of impressing others. It's our inflated opinion of our desperately-wicked selves. Bleh.
So What's the Hope?
The hope is, God has saved us from this MESS of pride. We humans hit each other up one side of the head and down the other with our competitive pride--all striving for something we can't obtain--for something it is only right and possible for God to have: GLORY.
And get this!
God and God alone is the only Being in the entire existence of the universe who can rightfully point and blame! He is without flaw--perfect, loving, and just. Yet we have refused His love and have spent ourselves mocking Him. Hating Him. Betraying Him. So He is the only insulted one and the only one without blame.
Result
So let's not strive to be the blameless, because there is only One: God. We are to blame for all our mess of sin. Humility is what God desires. And life is better off of our pedestals and down on the ground where we can look up, see Him, and observe Him.
Amidst this mess, God has saved us. The only One Who can legitimately blame has forgiven all things that have earned us that blame. God's wrath for our attempt to steal His glory was satisfied on the cross with the blood of His own Son. Now that, my friends, is what will motivate us to stay low--to be unimpressed with our puniness. To take responsibility for our own sins for the sake of change--for the sake of glorifying Him in our lives because of it.
"The glory of the Gospel is this: The One from Whom we needed to be saved is the One WHo has saved us." ~Anselm
"[B]ut God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
Challenge and Application Questions
- What situations or events most tempt you to blame-shift? It will help you observe your soul to name them specifically and write them down.
- In each situation, does your typical response indicate a responsible, inward observance of your own heart or a proud dwelling on the shortcomings of others?
- What is God's diagnoses of your sinful reactions? (Hint: See Luke 6:41-42.)
Message: Humilty: True Greatness
by C.J. Mahaney (FREE!)
