BLAME GAME

July 11, 2014

One game that most humans play naturally is the blame game. There is a Nigerian adage that, “Declare a table knife missing, and no one would say he/she has ever used it before.” I have realized that no one wants to be responsible for doing the wrong thing, we all want to put the blame on someone else and when there is no one around to blame it on, we blame the devil.

In Genesis 3, after Adam and Eve had eaten from the tree God told them not to eat from, and they discovered they were naked and went to hide from God. God asked in verse 11, “Who told you you were naked? Did you eat from that tree I told you no to eat from?” It was a Yes or No question, however, Adam said in verse 12, “The woman you gave me as a companion, she gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” Did the woman made him eat it under duress?

Even when God asked the woman why she did it, she never gave a straight answer, she said, “the serpent seduced me.” This story made me understand why we humans take pleasure in the blame game. We are always looking for where to dump the whole blame thinking that makes us look like a saint, which I would say instead makes us appear weak. Research shows that one of the attributes of great leaders is that they take responsibility for their actions and inactions.

David was a great example because he took responsibility for all his errors and never put the blame on someone else. When he slept with Bathsheba, he could have said, “Lord, if she had just gone inside to take her bath, this wouldn’t have happened.” But he didn’t, he took ownership, confessed and asked for forgiveness which was why he was highly respected by his people.

Friends, always remember that blames create no change and winners don’t apportion blames, losers do.

Follow on twitter @Iamhenrylong 

BBM: 2ADE79BA