Who Do We Blame?

A man’s own foolishness leads him astray, yet his heart rages against the Lord. (Proverbs 19:3)

I was thinking about this verse today.  It tells us the truth about our sin and its consequences and the truth about the human heart.  

The Biblical truth is that by nature, man is a sinner and by nature we go astray and sin.  When we sin, there are consequences.  For example, if you steal something, the consequence is getting arrested and possibly going to jail.  When you lie and are caught in that lie, the consequence can be you lose the trust and possibly the friendship of others.  I could go on, but I think I've made the point that when we sin, there will be negative consequences.  And the ultimate consequence of sin is death (see Romans 6:23).  I don't remember who said it, but they were correct when they said that we can choose our sin but we cannot choose the consequences of that sin.

The other Biblical truth that Proverbs 19:3 tells us is that when we receive the consequences for our sin, we tend to blame God.  When we get caught stealing, we blame God for sending us to jail.  When we get caught in a lie, we blame God for the truth coming out.  We naturally do not like to take the blame or responsibility for our sinful actions, so we have to blame Someone - why not God?

But when we blame God for the consequences of our sin, it's like blaming the dentist for the consequences of not brushing our teeth.  The dentist didn't give you the cavities.  The dentist didn't cause you to need a root canal.  You did that by choosing to neglect taking care of your teeth!  So when we suffer the consequences for our sin, we can't blame God!  The best thing we can do is to humbly accept the responsibility for our actions and come before Him in repentance and confession.  Yes, that is painfully humbling but it is the only thing we can do because we are the only one to blame.

If you are a Christian and have fallen into sin, come before the Lord in repentance and confess your sin and He will forgive you (see 1 John 1:9; Revelation 3:19).  If you are not a Christian - if you have never trusted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior - come to Him in repentance and confess your sin.  You may want to watch this brief video to help you.

I pray this has been a help and an encouragement to you.