Taking responsibility for our actions is not a new concept. In fact, it’s one of those events as old as time when you come right down to it. It started shortly after the creation of the world. A perfect habitation was formed by the hand of God. The place was without sin – pure and without flaw. A fallen angel entered paradise and that was the beginning of the end. We seem to be living in an era where passing the buck is a common problem. He created doubt in the mind of God’s people. He tempted them to disobey the One who created them. When confronted with their disobedience, Adam blamed Eve and Eve said the devil made her do it. The story continues.

Throughout generations people have turned blame into a daily occurrence. We get stuck in traffic, and we blame the bad drivers for making us late. We blame our family for making it difficult for us to get started – we blame our co-workers for slacking on the job – we blame our boss for impossible deadlines. Everyday things seem to put us on the defensive. I used to have a computer (an antique now) that spoke the words, “It’s not my fault,” when I made a mistake. Today, my phone will respond to my frustrations at times.

My point is that we’ve forgotten how to first look at ourselves for blame. That old adage about “point a finger at someone else, requires us to point four other fingers at ourselves,” holds much truth today. In our quest to reach the top we often push others down the ladder of success.

When Jesus shed His holy blood on the cross, He didn’t blame us, even though we deserved it.  He willingly gave His life to wash us free from guilt, shame and blame.  Because of that wonderful gift, let’s eagerly, daily ask for forgiveness instead of passing the buck.  He died once for the sins of all.