The Blame Game

scpChristian Living

“The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.” (Deuteronomy 24:16).

“But he slew not their children, but did as it is written in the law in the book of Moses, where the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not dies for the children, neither shall the children die for the fathers, but every man shall die for his own sin.” (II Chronicles 25:4). 

One thing is ruining America and that is the idea that everybody is a victim. The thought that someone in my past caused me to be this way! My condition has made me the way I am! No! You are like you are because you have chosen to be like you are! As a result we are becoming a society of victims.

As of the writing of this article I have been an ordained Baptist preacher for forty-eight years and pastored for thirty-three of those years. I pastored the great Longview Baptist Temple of Longview, Texas for twenty-nine and a half years.

I watched that church grow from a low of 159 to running hundreds and hundreds of people when I retired. She became a church of diversity and a conclave of society. We had folks who lived in beautiful houses and would be considered upper income people. We had those who lived in literal shacks, some in two room apartments, some who came to church in nice cars, some walked to attend church, some rode our buses, and some who slept in the woods attended.

Our church was made up of bus children, the deaf, blind, and the special needs folks. By the way they were all welcome! We operated Texas Baptist College and the college students were just as welcome as the homeless. All members had the same vote!

It appears that the psychologists have led America to believe that each of us, who do anything wrong, is a result of what someone else did. We are becoming a society of victims! Even fundamental Baptist preachers are leaving their pulpits and becoming professional counselors. The truth is they received their training from the humanistic institutions that are opposed to the Bible and old time religion. Then they come back and tell us that we are victims.

A victim of circumstances they say! A victim of heredity they say! A victim of poverty they say! No! Our problem is ourselves and not some one else. It is time to understand and accept personal responsibility for our actions from birth to death.

“So then everyone of us shall give an account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:12). Your father is not going to answer for your laziness. Your mother is not the cause for the sin you commit and your personality is not the problem nor the reason!

The laziness and lack of character cannot be attributed to any one but the fellow you shave or the woman whose hair you fix in the morning. Sin seems to be no ones’ fault any more. The Charismatics have found “demons” to blame! Fundamentalists are just as bad when we listen to the humanists of the religious world.

“My father hollered at his family and that is why I have a hot temper!” Do not blame your father for your hot temper! The temper belongs to you not him!

It is time that those from the ghettos quit saying, “I could turn out right if it were not for the fact I live in the ghetto.” Some black leaders caused uproars for laying at the feet of the black community their lack of personal responsibility. The challenge is for the black community to quit blaming others and rise to the challenges of life.

I am tired of the down and out blaming others for their plight in life. No one has it any better or any worse than any one else. The assets and liabilities balance out for everyone. For every asset there is a liability!

Any one who has a desire to do something with their life can do so. If you as a little girl were molested you can still do something great with your life. Stop blaming an event in your life for the reason you cannot seem to get ahead in life.

Someone said, “My parents divorced and that is what is wrong with me.” No! You do wrong because you choose to do wrong! You cannot blame your parent’s divorce for your poor choices in life. It is not your dad’ fault nor your mother’s fault it is your fault for wrong choices.

I know this is a little old fashioned, but it helped build a great nation until the humanists began to look for ways to skirt personal blame.

If you are a child of God you have the Holy Spirit living in you to help you and if you choose to not accept His help that is your fault not His. Every one of us shall give an account to God for himself is a truth given by God to His children!

When a wife says that she hates men because she was molested, as a child is just not true. The fruit of the Holy Spirit can be partaken by any of God’s children. A part of that fruit is “love” and the power to be able to love in spite of the object. The only reason a child of God hates is because that child of God is not right with God.

Please do not misunderstand me! I have sympathy for any one who is molested, but I refuse to have sympathy on some one who wants sympathy! The truth is we are the problem and not the victim! The Bible does not say, “Non-molested women love your husbands”.

It is time to look in to a mirror and discover who is responsible for sins we commit because of injustices done to us. Wrong done to us has never justified sin committed against others! Vengeance belongs to God and not His children. The reason is God wants to salvage and we want to scrape.

Some one says, “I grew up in a ghetto where every one stole.” Wait a minute! The truth is you steal because you are a thief and choose to be a thief. Our society has justified the Mendez brothers for killing their own parents! The riot in South Central LA was attributed to poverty. No one has a right to riot, steal, kidnap, rape, murder, or vandalize property.

Liberals have infiltrated the very fabric of our society. They pass liberal laws, teach liberal dogma, and produce liberal leaders for the next generation.

Some Bible Colleges wavier on the very inspiration of our King James Bible and we wonder why the pulpits are being filled with counselors instead of old-fashioned preachers. Never forget that every one of us shall give an account of ourselves to God one day!

It is best if each of us face it and accept responsibility for our lives from birth to death. One man said, “I was deprived of love from my wife and so I was forced to divorce her!” Adultery is called an “affair.” Stealing is called “misappropriation of funds.” Drunkenness is called a “disease”, but it is still sin.

The bus children will answer to God for their sins. The bus children’s parents will answer for their sins. The bus children’s brothers and sisters will answer for their own sins. It is not an issue of my parents did not teach you character and thus you are lazy. It is an issue of personal accountability!

“I learned to lie from my dad.” You are supposed to tell the truth if no one ever taught you to tell the truth. If mom and dad did not teach you to work eight hours for eight hours of pay you are still supposed to work eight hours for eight hours of pay. If your parents never taught you to study you are still supposed to study. Every one of us shall give an account of ourselves to God!

God told us that the father will not die for his children’s sins and the children will not die for the father’s sins. However, every man will pay the price for his own sins.

The sad thing is that we laugh at it when the world attempts to justify their actions by playing the victim and then turn right around and start buying into it ourselves. We blame the teacher, the principal, the youth director, the bus director, the choir director, the camp director, or the preacher.

We defend our children without any trust in the authority God has placed there to help us. In our house you were guilty until proven innocent not innocent until proven guilty.

The problem is you have been watching too much of Dr. Phil or Oprah Winfrey instead of reading your Bible and going to your man of God. The world is basically giving excuses for incest, heather lifestyle, murder, rioting, rape, molestation, and homosexuality. “So then everyone of us shall give an account of himself to God.”

The Charismatic movement has their own form of producing victims. They have the Devil of smoke, of drink, temper, and of rebellion. With that vein of thought you can excuse your actions! We have desensitized our society from accepting personal responsibility and have prepared us mentally to blame some one else for our actions. We are like we are because we have chosen to be like we are!

My Bible does not say, “Thou shalt not steal unless you live in the ghettos.” My Bible does not say, “Thou shalt not kill unless you are poor or deprived, thou shalt not commit adultery unless you are molested as a child,” or “My parents made me go to church when I was young and that is why I am like I am”.

You do not like church because you do not like to hear about your sin! You sit in church with a disinterested look on your face because you are not right with God! You don’t smile, respond, sing, mumble under your breath, and you will never snap out of it until you take the blame yourself for yourself.

“Preacher, my parents never told me that they loved me!” I probably wouldn’t have either. “I have a temper because my dad hollered at me. My parents made me work as a child and that is why I hate my parents.” Sorry, you choose to hate! Every one of us shall give an account of ourselves to God!

“My mama spanked me when I was a child and that is why I hate her.” Obviously she didn’t spank you enough or hard enough. Quit blaming every one but yourself. You ought to thank God for your parents, for the roof over your head, for the clothes on your back, for the food put into your stomach, and for the shoes on your feet.

In Kings and Chronicles you will discover one king who did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord and then his son who did right in the sight of the Lord. The next king who was his son did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.

I fear that too much is made about the parents role and too little is made about the responsibility of the child. Do not push your sins off on you parents, preacher, youth director, teacher, or principal.

The two great revivals in the Old Testament were under Hezekiah and Josiah. Hezekiah’s father was named Ahaz and he was a wicked king. Under Hezekiah no revival among the kings of Judah was as great. Yet, his father was a wicked king.

The second greatest revival among the kings of Judah was under Josiah and Josiah’s father was the wicked Amon! Wicked father, righteous son, and wicked grandson! Any child can turn out right even if your father was wicked if you will take personal accountability for your actions.

Check out the great preachers of the past! Check out their circumstances! They were reared under poverty, drunkenness, and a bad home life. Your success or failure depends on you!