Today’s 333 Devotional: “The Blame Game”

Saying it is God’s fault goes back to the beginning. Instead of taking responsibility, Adam blamed God.

He said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” (Genesis 3:12)

It seems like Adam is blaming Eve, that she was the one who caused him to sin, but in reality, Adam is blaming God, because if God had not given Eve he wouldn’t have eaten.

What a tangled web we weave when first we start to deceive.

We blame God in an attempt to divert the real blame. This was what God confronted Job with. We see a beautiful lament from Job when he lost everything.

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21-22)

And Job’s testimony was that he didn’t sin, nor charge God with a wrong. He didn’t blame God.

In his first lament, however, he cursed the day of his birth (Job 3:1). He was blaming God because if he had not been born, if God hadn’t allowed his birth, then he would have never gone through such torment (Job 3:11-13).

But something more was going on inside of Job, which was while He may not have blamed God with his mouth, it seems he did so in his heart, which God confronted in the end.

“Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself?” (Job 40:8)

Our words and thoughts do matter.

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14)

Self-justification is an evil all its own, because we never take responsibility for our actions. We blame God for either our own shortcomings or for the earth that is under a curse because of humanity’s sin and is groaning for redemption (Romans 8:22).