The Blame Game

Humans are great at blaming others for their problems or short-comings and we have no greater example than Adam and Eve. In Genesis 3, we find that the two have eaten from the tree of Knowledge, to which both were given direct instructions on not to eat. Adam was told directly from Yahweh and Eve by Adam, however, before we go any further, let's look specifically at verses 12 and 13:

(12) Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” (13) And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

The passages above follow as they both have eaten the fruit of the tree of knowledge.  Now, while there was some deception at play, we also know that the Lord always provides us with a way to escape temptation (see 1 Corinthians 10:13). It's up to us to take His offer and escape!

While the two hid from the Lord (because they knew what they did was wrong), God called out to them and asked why they were hiding.  He knew the answer, but it was a matter of whether or not they would be truthful.  We start off with Adam responding to the Lord and he does two things:

1. He indirectly blames God for providing the woman too him, and then
2. He directly blames Eve for the reason he ate the fruit.

While all the blame was pointing at Eve, she says, "The serpent deceived me".  She essentially passed the buck too.

In both cases, they displayed this new found desire for man to cover and/or protect themselves when they knew they had done wrong.  This is the reason why Adam and Even covered themselves with leaves when Yahweh called out to them. They felt ashamed because they were naked. Now, had they not ate from the tree, they would not have this knowledge of being naked or have a feeling of being ashamed!

You see, it is easier to blame others for our problems, but it takes a mature person to look inward and ask what was your role in a particular situation. Instead of blaming others for your problems, why not see how you can fix your part of the problem. Do a little self-reflection and if we are honest with ourselves, there are enough issues to solve within ourselves without pointing fingers at others.

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He Calms the Storms

Throughout our lives we will all have rough patches.  We will have moments of smooth sailing and we will have bouts of stormy weather.  This will happen to us both physically and spiritually.

For Instance. Last night in North Carolina, we had a line of storms to come through that produced tornadoes. We were on a level 3 (out of 5) alert in our area. The good thing is that the weather predictions prepared us for what was to come. Even if nothing happened, we were prepared for if it did.  Now, today the weather is cool, crisp, and sunny.

In our spiritual walk there are times when you may be minding your own business and without warning, a storm seemingly comes out of nowhere.  In the physical, when people are not warned ahead of time there can be many injured and loss of life if the storms are bad enough.  Spiritually, you may not lose your life, but you can suffer great emotional and spiritual injury if you aren't prepared to endure and the aftermath. 

However, despite how bad the storms may appear in our lives, Yahweh is always there to make them pass away.  Let's look at Psalm 107:23-30.

(23) Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters, (24) They see the works of the Lord, And His wonders in the deep. (25) For He commands and raises the stormy wind, Which lifts up the waves of the sea. (26) They mount up to the heavens, They go down again to the depths; Their soul melts because of trouble. (27) They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits’ end. (28) Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble, And He brings them out of their distresses. (29) He calms the storm, So that its waves are still. (30) Then they are glad because they are quiet; So He guides them to their desired haven.

Despite the damage that may be caused, God is there to bring us out of our distress. The Holy Spirit allows us to pass through the calm after the storm and He guides us to a desired haven. However, the only way this happens is that we understand who is in control and that the desired outcome for our lives is His will.  We just have to be patient and a willing vessel so that we may learn, grow, and have a testimony to share with others.

Storms will come and there is no doubt about that. It's in the aftermath of the recovery period that shows our true character and how we are really walking out this Christian faith.

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