' The Blame Game '
Where did it start that someone blamed another? Why did it happen? What can we learn from this? It all started in the beginning with Adam and Eve. God told Adam what to and not to do with the fruit of the tree.
Genesis 2: 15 ~ 17 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. God made woman, Adam's wife, from his rib after He placed him into a deep sleep.
Genesis 3: 1 ~ 6
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. (though there is no text where Adam told her what God had said to him, it is obvious this husband shared with his wife what God commanded)
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. (Playing up to her fleshly ego and pride)
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. Notice: Adam decided to sin, although he knew full well what God Himself had commanded him directly; the woman was deceived, and was persuaded to sin. They each succumbed to the appetites of their flesh that this text warns us against:
1 John 2: 16, 17 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that does the will (Word) of God abideth forever.
Her mistake was in even talking to and listening to the serpent, i.e. a type of the devil. The serpent had no respect for what God had said or wanted of the man and woman He'd created. He, being a sneak, a liar and a rebel ~ tried her heart, as he surely shall yours and mine, time and time again. The devil does it to see if he can get us to hurt the heart of God by deliberate disobedience to His laws. God lets the devil tempt us to see how much our heart is truly with Him....or not. Do we care about His wishes and feelings to the same measure that we expect and depend on God to care about ours?
The devil is in the sowing business. He sowed 'seed of doubt' into her mind when he said to her, 'Has God said ...'. Hmmmm. We must never doubt God nor His Word to our heart. His Word is His heart on every matter. It is a sure deal and we are only wise to embrace and follow His direction. We are also most wise to learn from their example as to what not to do.
They each could...have done what God said. Neither of them chose to. When God came to each of them to receive answer for their disobedience, enter blame game of being irresponsible:
Genesis 3: 12 ~ 14 ... The woman who You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that you have done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. Passing the buck; the blame game started right there! And, I find it suitable and befitting that God didn't even bother giving the serpent space to speak. Rather, ..... ' the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:...(Until then, the serpent stood upright. Too, it was not until after their rebellion to God, that the earth brought forth briars and thistles and stickers. Thus, they are a type and a shadow of disobedience)
Genesis 3: 17 ~ 19 And unto Adam He said, Because you have hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and have eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
As we read on in these Scripture texts, we see that God held each one of them responsible for their own actions. Each one bore their own consequence to deal with for their own disobedience. No blaming or their seeking to justify their disobedience, was acceptable to God. Then, and now, we are each responsible for our own self.
I've never seen it to fail, that whenever a person starts blaming another for what they are or are not in character and lifestyle, they are really saying 'this is the way I am and I am not changing so deal with it'! Howbeit, refusing to assume personal responsibility for their own morality and conduct in the sight of God. Nonetheless, as we see throughout God's Holy Word, He puts the blame where it belongs along with....consequences.
It is wise for each one of us, to take what is ours and own it. It isn't someone else's. It is ours and we shall be the one to answer to God. 'To him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin.' This is an on-going daily process of changing our own mind and self to agree with God's Word. Then, we can personally give answer to God with joy and not with sorrow.
The other side of that coin is to be sure to leave with another what is definitely theirs to own. We cannot give into what is wrong, nor, become enablers of what is evil in the sight of God. Following......Jesus Christ, we shall do precisely this. There are no excuses for any one of us. None, in the sight of God. Look up, God is!
Thank You So Very Much! Beautifully Done!
The Beautiful Classical Music Playing Today is DeBussy's Clair De Lune
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