It’s Friday…Everything is Always Someone Else’s Fault

Did you watch the Presidential debate? There was a lot of finger pointing going on, huh? Their performance confirms that we are a society of victims. That’s what happens when a culture emphasizes human rights over human responsibilities. Both are important, but one without the other has tragic consequences. Focusing on responsibility to the exclusion of rights ultimately results in slavery. Focusing on rights to the exclusion of responsibility results in . . . well, the society we have. Everything Is Always Someone Else’s Fault.

God won’t let us get away with that attitude. He loves us too much to allow us to think our brokenness comes to us in spite of our innocence. No, we live in a fallen world, and all of us have deepened the fall. We just don’t bear the effects of sin, we’ve inflicted them from time to time. We live in a climate of rebellion because we’ve been rebels ourselves. In one way or another, everyone has forsaken The Lord who would have led us in the way we should go.

“Have you not brought this on yourselves by forsaking The LORD your God when He led you in the way?”  (Jeremiah 2:17)

We like to point our fingers at those who are worse sinners than we are, and we can find plenty of evidence that some people exhibit depravity more than others. But the Bible never really invites us to do that. It’s always reminding us of our part in the fall, rarely, if ever, lamenting that all those other people have messed up the world for us. That doesn’t mean that all suffering is at our own hands. It does, however, mean that all suffering comes from the condition of a fallen world – a condition we’ve helped create. Finger-pointing is never allowed in God’s Kingdom, unless we also place ourselves in the path of the pointer.

God knows we aren’t all blatantly idolatrous rebels. Most of us who believe in the gospel have a heart that longs for Him. Even so, let’s never get to the point of thinking that our heart is beyond rebellion or temptation. And let’s never cease to follow The One who leads the way for us and who is jealous for our love. Let’s live as citizens of The Kingdom of righteousness, not as citizens of the society of victims.

Have an exhilarating weekend. Make it better by worshiping The LORD with those who are grateful for God’s amazing grace and who live to share it with other around them.

All For Jesus – Nothing More, Nothing Less, Nothing Else.

“He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, The King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see, to Him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.” (1 Timothy 6:15b-16)