Daily Devotionals

It's Not Supposed to Be This Way Week 2: Wednesday

"The man replied, "It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it." Then the Lord God asked the woman, "What have you done?" "The serpent deceived me," she replied. "That's why I ate it." Genesis 3:12-13

If you have young kids, you know there is often a temptation to play the "blame game" when siblings are caught doing something they knew they should not have done. They may think they are being tricky by blaming their other sibling, but it is obvious to parents that both children likely had a part to play in their actions. Shame often tempts us to blame another person or life circumstance for our sin rather than accept responsibility for our actions. This has been the pattern of human beings since the beginning, but there is a better way. 

When Adam and Eve were caught in their sin, they tried to shift the blame. They had eaten fruit from the only tree in the garden that God had commanded them not to eat, and He called their sin out. When He questioned them about it, Adam said, "It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it" (verse 12). Adam blamed Eve and God for giving him Eve as a companion for this sin. Then Eve said, "the serpent deceived me… that's why I ate it" (verse 13). Eve tried to shift the blame on Satan, who had come to her and tempted her as a serpent to eat the fruit. They did everything they could to shift the blame. God saw through this blame game and announced that they would all face the consequences for their actions.

While looking to someone or something else to blame for our sins is tempting, there is a better way. 1 John 1:8 says, "if we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth." When we place blame on others for things we have done, we are just deceiving ourselves. Instead of blaming others, "if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all wickedness." When we confess our sins instead of blaming others, God forgives us. He is faithful to forgive. Will you confess your sins today?

Moving toward action

Let's commit to taking ownership of our sins and our actions. Is there a sin you have been holding on to that you have been blaming someone else or a particular life situation you have been walking through? Take ownership today by accepting your responsibility. First, acknowledge your responsibility to God. Then, acknowledge your responsibility to anyone impacted by the sin you have given in to. As you do these things, you are taking essential steps toward healing.

Going Deeper

1 John 1:1-10 (NLT)

"We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. 2 This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.

5 This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.

8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts."