Don't Blame Yourself
Sept 28, 2015
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.'"
Adam and Eve were the first sinners. It is interesting, when you think about it, that the very first people to sin were Adam and Eve. They didn't have a bad parental role model so the negative influences in their lives were never there. They didn't have a rough childhood, or were abused but trusted adults. Growing up, other children never teased them. They had the perfect, literally perfect, life. They never experienced stress, feelings of depression or neglect, financial hardship, or jealous behavior. They had a great start in life, the idyllic story that fairy tales are made from, yet they still sinned. How could they be led astray and travel the path of sin? Aside from having the ability to choose, they were never faced with the desire to sin. But sin, they did; apparently it was inevitable. When given the opportunity, they responded with poor judgment, despite being set up for success.
And when they did sin; what was Adam's first response? His exact words to the Lord were, "The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it." He had the audacity to blame the Lord first, despite the Lord setting him up for success. He also blamed his wife, the most influential person in his life at the time. Man's first experience with sin was to blame everyone else and fail to take responsibility for his own actions. This is what we do, too. We blame the Lord for our circumstances and we blame the influential people around us, but seldom do we blame ourselves. Adam had full control of his mind and body that day, yet made a bad decision. Adam was equipped to make the perfect decision yet chose poorly. This actually makes me feel a little better, if Adam and Eve (who had the perfect life) couldn't resist sin, then maybe I shouldn't have such high expectations of myself. Nonetheless, the Lord expects us to make good decisions when it comes to sin.
Undoubtedly, you live in a constant weakened state. Your life is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. Your parents were less than desirable at times, your childhood was full of antagonism, your financial situation has never been what you've needed it to be, and the current influential people in your life - well - they are actually sinners, too. You were not set up perfectly in life, like Adam and Eve, yet you are expected to live your life according to the Lord's standards. This creates emotional friction because your sinful nature will mix with your constant weakened state and then you will be tempted, which is a better recipe for sin than Adam and Eve had. And then sin, you eventually will, whatever the situation. It is inevitable. I'm not excusing it, but realizing it is going to happen. But your response to your sin must be better than Adam's.
True, the Lord put you in this situation, even allowed it, but you cannot blame the Lord or your situation for your sin. During whatever your trial, or weakened state, your ability to blame someone else is zero. You don't get to blame your parents for the patterns they instilled in you and you don't get to blame your spouse for his or her bad influence. The only person you may blame is yourself. You have full and complete control over your actions, despite arguing your weakened state. At some point, you get to become an adult and make the right decision despite your upbringing. If you recognize your parents' poor direction and example, then you get to rise above that. If your spouse isn't perfect, then you get to deal with that, too. If your job and financial situation is stressful, then that gets knowingly added to your mix. And this is the scenario in which you find yourself while being tempted. And when you are tempted and when you sin, you don't get to blame the Lord and you don't get to blame the influences surrounding you. You get to take full responsibility for your own actions.
While these seems unfair, you also get to take full reward someday in Heaven when you get it right. No one else around you will be held accountable for your sin, and no one else around you will get rewarded for your good actions. You get to blame you for the outcome. It's time to start taking responsibility, despite all the negative influences you've had from the beginning. There is power for living, however, and that requires submission to the Lord's Holy Spirit. Want this Holy Spirit power for successful Christian living in a weakened state?
Don't take my word for it; look it up: Gen 3, 1 John 1:8, Eph 6:10-18
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.'"
Adam and Eve were the first sinners. It is interesting, when you think about it, that the very first people to sin were Adam and Eve. They didn't have a bad parental role model so the negative influences in their lives were never there. They didn't have a rough childhood, or were abused but trusted adults. Growing up, other children never teased them. They had the perfect, literally perfect, life. They never experienced stress, feelings of depression or neglect, financial hardship, or jealous behavior. They had a great start in life, the idyllic story that fairy tales are made from, yet they still sinned. How could they be led astray and travel the path of sin? Aside from having the ability to choose, they were never faced with the desire to sin. But sin, they did; apparently it was inevitable. When given the opportunity, they responded with poor judgment, despite being set up for success.
And when they did sin; what was Adam's first response? His exact words to the Lord were, "The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it." He had the audacity to blame the Lord first, despite the Lord setting him up for success. He also blamed his wife, the most influential person in his life at the time. Man's first experience with sin was to blame everyone else and fail to take responsibility for his own actions. This is what we do, too. We blame the Lord for our circumstances and we blame the influential people around us, but seldom do we blame ourselves. Adam had full control of his mind and body that day, yet made a bad decision. Adam was equipped to make the perfect decision yet chose poorly. This actually makes me feel a little better, if Adam and Eve (who had the perfect life) couldn't resist sin, then maybe I shouldn't have such high expectations of myself. Nonetheless, the Lord expects us to make good decisions when it comes to sin.
Undoubtedly, you live in a constant weakened state. Your life is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. Your parents were less than desirable at times, your childhood was full of antagonism, your financial situation has never been what you've needed it to be, and the current influential people in your life - well - they are actually sinners, too. You were not set up perfectly in life, like Adam and Eve, yet you are expected to live your life according to the Lord's standards. This creates emotional friction because your sinful nature will mix with your constant weakened state and then you will be tempted, which is a better recipe for sin than Adam and Eve had. And then sin, you eventually will, whatever the situation. It is inevitable. I'm not excusing it, but realizing it is going to happen. But your response to your sin must be better than Adam's.
True, the Lord put you in this situation, even allowed it, but you cannot blame the Lord or your situation for your sin. During whatever your trial, or weakened state, your ability to blame someone else is zero. You don't get to blame your parents for the patterns they instilled in you and you don't get to blame your spouse for his or her bad influence. The only person you may blame is yourself. You have full and complete control over your actions, despite arguing your weakened state. At some point, you get to become an adult and make the right decision despite your upbringing. If you recognize your parents' poor direction and example, then you get to rise above that. If your spouse isn't perfect, then you get to deal with that, too. If your job and financial situation is stressful, then that gets knowingly added to your mix. And this is the scenario in which you find yourself while being tempted. And when you are tempted and when you sin, you don't get to blame the Lord and you don't get to blame the influences surrounding you. You get to take full responsibility for your own actions.
While these seems unfair, you also get to take full reward someday in Heaven when you get it right. No one else around you will be held accountable for your sin, and no one else around you will get rewarded for your good actions. You get to blame you for the outcome. It's time to start taking responsibility, despite all the negative influences you've had from the beginning. There is power for living, however, and that requires submission to the Lord's Holy Spirit. Want this Holy Spirit power for successful Christian living in a weakened state?
Don't take my word for it; look it up: Gen 3, 1 John 1:8, Eph 6:10-18
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