The Blame Game

Genesis 2:16,17
(16) And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;
(17) but you must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

It's not my fault! I didn't do it! Have you ever heard or even said those words before? Sure you have, they've been around since, well since Adam and Eve to be exact. You see Adam and Eve started this whole thing of blaming each other, and since then we've all been doing it ever since. If you read Genesis Chapter 3, you'll read about the fall of man. After reading this chapter we can understand why we are separated from God. We can understand why life is so hard for us, and we can understand how this whole "blame game" got started.

After God created Adam and saw that he was alone, He knew this wasn't good for Adam so He created a helper for Adam, a woman. Adam was given only one rule to obey... God said he could eat from any tree in the garden except one, and that was the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 3:6 (6) When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.
Well here we go! Enter sin into the lives of all mankind! Thanks Adam and Eve, thanks a lot! Those two messed it up for all of us! You see I'm blaming them already.
We know that God had told Adam he could eat from any tree but this one. we know from reading Genesis 3:1-5 that Eve was confused and tricked by the serpent (Satan).

Genesis 3:1-5
(1) Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, "You must not eat from any tree in the garden?"
(2) The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat from any tree in the garden,
(3) but God did say, "You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die."
(4) "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman.
(5) For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

I find it very interesting to see here that Eve knew the rules to obey. She had no misunderstanding of what God had told them to do. So why did she fall? Satan, the serpent, was good at making her think that God was hiding something from her. The thought of all that knowledge and wisdom tempted her. Wow, I can know all that God knows. The serpent is basically saying you can be just like God. So she fell for the lie and we're still paying the price to this date.

Eve's first mistake was to listen to someone other than God, especially when it comes to receiving advice that contradicts what God's word says. This happens to us every day doesn't it? We must be on guard for this kind of trap that eventually leads us deep in sin.
Eve's next mistake is that she went to the tree and looked at it! My experience has always been, if I know I have a weak area of sin in my life then i Need to "Stay Away from It." The bible says to flee from Satan, to run from him. We can learn from Eve here... Sin looks really pleasing to the eye. It's a lure for a trap! We have to be careful or we'll do what Eve did, we'll not be able to resit and we'll fall into sin and most likely we'll drag others along into it just like Eve did with her husband.

Another lesson for us is this... We need to learn to be responsible for our own actions. We need to quit blaming others for our circumstances in our life. No one is responsible for your life, but you. Yet it seems we are so quick to point the finger and blame our circumstances and problems on others. The perfect example of blaming others came from Adam and Eve. After they had eaten the fruit their eyes were opened and they saw themselves as naked and they wanted to cover themselves. Well, God comes walking through the garden and they're hiding from Him. God calls out to Adam, "where are you?" Adam says, "I heard You in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked." God asks, "Who told you that you were naked, have you eaten from the tree that I have commanded you not to eat from?" Now, here comes the "Blame Game"...

Genesis 3:12, The man said, "The woman you put here with me - she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it. In other words, God you started this! You gave me this woman and look what happened! And if that wasn't enough, it's really her fault because she's the one that gave it to me, I never picked it, I knew better! It's all her fault Lord God.

Genesis 3:13, Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, so I ate it." In other words, "God, it's the serpents fault!" "I told him what you said but he confused and then I ate it." If it wasn't for that snake I would never had done this." "It's his fault Lord, not mine."

By reading the rest of the Chapter we see the terrible consequences of their sin and disobedience to God. My question for you today is this... Who are you blaming for the problems in your life today? Don't blame God, His instructions are very clear, He wants and expects obedience. Don't blame others. We are to put on the full armor of God and be aware of the devil and his tactics. Run from sin, stay away from it! I think sometimes we like to go right up to the edge of sin then think we can turn away at the last moment, but remember... sin looks real good. We have a desire for it, so stay away, and repent!

Prayer: Dear Lord God, I pray that I will be honest enough with You to admit my own mistakes and to not blame anyone other than myself for my own decisions and actions in my life. Forgive me! Amen