Who Can I Blame?

When things go wrong, who should we blame? Should we blame ourselves or should we blame others? Well, I think many of us would suggest that it depends. Blame is an interesting phenomenon that has taken control of our society today, since many want to blame others for the problems we are facing today. We tend to blame someone or something when negative or bad things happen in our lives. How did you respond the last time something bad happened to you or your family? When we blame someone else, we are assigning and holding them responsible for what went wrong. For example, if you get into a simple fender bender on the road, normally one person is clearly to blame (whether they admit it or not) and the other is not. In this instance, the person who is blamed for the accident will be forced to make restitution and pay for any damage done to the car. But, who do we blame for issues like pride, lust, a desire for control, or a desire for money? Or who do we blame for not getting what we want, hardships in life, like the loss of a loved one, a divorce, rebellious children, getting fired from our jobs, or even a bad grade on a test?

I would suggest that many of us today are looking for someone or something to blame for all the issues and problems that we and our society face today. Should we blame the far left for pushing their agenda through hypocrisy, lies, and spreading propaganda throughout our nation? Should we blame the school system for teaching our children that sin does not exist and that it is up to the individuals to decide if they are a boy or a girl? How about for rewriting history? How about the cancel culture?

I know it is so easy for me to throw the first rock. I want to blame the far left for all the craziness that is going on in society. I want to blame people for poor leadership, for their own failings, for broken processes, for a broken society, a society that makes me upset, and saddens my heart. I want to blame people for a school system that is teaching nonsense to our young kids. I want to blame the university system for pushing the far left agenda and encouraging a lack of morals, ethics, integrity, the issue of identity freedom, and a lack of freedom of speech. I want to blame the university system for focusing on humanism (not science), for their open rebellion against ethics, morals, logic, and teaching people not to think for themselves. But, I forget that this has been going on for decades, and I have done nothing about it in the past. Now that it is becoming a major issue, I just want to throw rocks and blame the other side for the deterioration of our society.

How long have we sat and watched all of this develop right before our eyes? How long have we allowed the K-12 school system to be slowly corrupted, the university system to focus on indoctrination and not freedom of thought? How about allowing a small group of people to drive their agenda because we fear their use of terms like racism, diversity, and inequality? Well, I would suggest for decades. This has been a slow change, but after so many small changes, we are starting to see big changes. We are seeing the results of what our grandparents, our parents, and we have allowed our society to become. These changes have occurred because many of us do not stand our ground, many of us are hypocrites, many of us tell lies, and many of us have an attitude that it is someone else’s fault. We blame everyone/everything else, but who is really to blame? When we look in the mirror, whose fault is it really? Someone else’s, or do we hold part of the blame for giving into the world and being like the world?

1 Corinthians 1:18-20 (ESV). For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

We can see from 1 Corinthians 1:18-20 that God has made foolish the wisdom of the world. So, why do so many of us cling to the world, support the activities of the world, love the world, and blame everyone else when things turn out to be horrible? How should we respond to the world and all of its desires and lies, by blaming everyone else for our problems? Well, 1 John 2:15-17 (ESV) suggests:

1 John 2:15-17 (ESV). Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

You may ask at this point how we follow the will of God who abides forever, especially when so many things are going wrong and society is a battle ground of ideas, when the blame is being assigned and no one wants to take responsibility or be accountable for their actions. Well, I think that Romans 12:9-21 has some encouraging words for the believers.

Romans 12:9-21 (ESV). Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Fellow believes, who are you blaming for the problems we face today? Are you holding a grudge, are you disappointed, or even angry at the state of our society today? Are you blaming others for all the chaos in the past year, which is showing all the social upheaval? Or are you looking in the mirror and asking what you did in the past to stem the tide of evil (or encourage it)? Are you asking the question of what you can do today to stop the onslaught of the world’s agenda? Well, the first step we all need to take is stop blaming others for all the issues and concerns we face today. We as BELIEVERS need to step up, act like Christians, and go out into the world and share the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. We need to work late into the night, until the unrepentant people in the world can start seeing Christian believers who stand up for what they believe, are firm, yet loving. Things will not change, and will only get worse, if Christians continue to love the world more than they love Christ. As Christians, we need to go out, engage in the world and share the love of Christ (what are we waiting for)?