THE BLAME GAME

"The man said, 'The woman you put here with me--she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.'" (Genesis 3:12, NIV)

Have you ever played golf with someone who has the amazing ability to pick out every flaw of a golf course? Or nearly every bad shot is the result of something other than their swing?

While some people with this habit may play good golf, the company they keep usually has a high turnover rate.

Sadly, our human commitment to not taking responsibility for our actions has stood the test of time. In today's passage, we see the father of us all failing to own up to his mistake. Instead of taking responsibility, he plays "the blame game."

First, Adam blamed God for the woman He gave him. Then he put the responsibility on her because she gave him the fruit. And because it "fell into his lap," he ate it.

Although this was a crafty excuse by Adam, it reveals how quickly he forgot the order of the universe that God put in place. It also showed the craftiness of Satan and his ability to lead us into ignoring the things of God in favor of our own reasoning.

Adam had forgotten that he was created first in the image of God, that he was to lead by communication with God, and that his wife Eve was to be an encourager and a helper to him.

Therefore, what God had created for the good, Adam had seen as his spoil.

The tragic bottom line is that when we forget the created order, we blames God for supposed errors, rather than thanking Him for all His blessings. We become accusers of God's injustice rather than thankful users of His provisions.

Thankfully, Adam's folly was covered by the blood of grace that flowed out of Christ.

However, let this be a lesson to us that when we forget to "be thankful" or "count our blessings," we can easily lose perspective just as Adam did.

May we continually renew our minds today as we direct our focus to our surrounding blessings and His provisions.

--

Jonathan Dudley

May 3, 2006

Copyright 2006 Links Players International

The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.