No More Blame
"And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one
by one, Is it I? and another said, Is it I?" -- Mark 14:19
What a shame, what a shame, When we point a finger to blame.
A few days ago I got up VERY EARLY in the morning in order
to drive 90 minutes to Memphis, Tennessee to pick up a
friend of mine at the airport.
It was 6:30 A.M. when I arrived at the gas station to fuel
up before making the trip. (Yes, 6:30 in the morning is VERY
EARLY for me to be up :o)
I arrived at the gas station, exited the vehicle, put the
fuel nozzle into the appropriate spot and started waiting
for the gasoline to begin funneling into my gas tank.
Nothing happened.
I watched the screen of the gas pump waiting for the numbers
to reset at zero and the fueling to begin.
Nothing happened.
I started getting a bit irritated because I was running
behind already. And, because it was 6:30 in the morning and
I am generally a bit irritable at that time of day. :o)
I looked and saw the attendant through the window of the gas
station. I tried to get her attention to tell her to turn on
the pump so I could get my gas. She wouldn't look my way!
She was too busy jabbering with one of her friends.
I got more irritable. I started grumbling to myself that I
was going to have to walk all the way inside to tell this
girl to stop talking and turn my pump on. I mean, after all,
I am a paying customer and she isn't doing her job very
well. She certainly was being inconsiderate to me!
At this rate I was going to be late arriving at the airport
and it was going to be completely her fault.
I decided to wait one more minute to see if she would turn
my pump on.
At just about the end of the minute, I happened to look down
and what I saw brought things into stark focus...
...I had FORGOTTEN to press the START button!
And so, as it turned out, this nice lady who worked at the
gas station had absolutely done ZERO wrong and it had been
completely MY FAULT for the delay.
And once again God taught me a lesson.
You see, we often blame other people for our mistakes. We
often point the finger of fault at others without ever
noticing our own misgivings.
We say "You should have done this" or "You shouldn't have
done that" without ever realizing that WE may be the cause
of the problem.
Adam blamed Eve (and God) for his sin. And we've been doing
it ever since. It's always someone else's fault.
When, in reality, it oftentimes is our own fault.
Christian, today we need to be careful to examine our lives
and make certain that we don't get irritated and angry at
people for things that aren't really their fault. We need to
make sure that we don't cast blame on people without first
looking at things from their viewpoint, walking in their
shoes and taking a look at our own lives.
Instead of blaming others for problems that may or may not
be "their fault," let's work together with each other to
find solutions.
And to live out the love of Jesus Christ.
Instead of assigning blame, let's wear His Name.
Jimmy D. Brown
support@Living4Jesus.com