He made me do it!

These cute kids could never do anything wrong!
It's always somebody else's fault

When I was coaching High School softball a couple
years ago, there was a girl who missed a ball in
the outfield in a game. She came in the dugout
And I heard a teammate say to her, “It’s not your
fault, it took a bad hop.” She responded (not knowing
I was listening), “No, I should have had it. Even if it
took a bad hop, I should have stopped the ball. If I
make an excuse, the same thing will happen the next time.”.

I was so impressed by her “accountability” for her mistake.
The ball probably did take a bad hop, because the field we
were on was pretty bad. But we don’t learn or grow when we
make excuses. We will all make mistakes, and some are
worse than others and have more consequences. Regardless,
we need to accept our responsibility for all our choices
and actions.

I see the tendency we all have to blame instead of admit
and be accountable in my 8-yr-old son these days. Lately,
when I tell him he is in trouble for doing something wrong,
he immediately tells me what somebody else did to him first.
I tell him that we are talking about HIS actions and tell
him the story of Adam and Eve so he can remember to take
responsibility and not make excuses.

Here’s where we all get the desire to blame and make
excuses! When Adam and Eve got caught in the garden
eating fruit from the only tree they weren’t supposed
to eat from, they immediately started pointing fingers.

God said to Adam in the garden, “Have you eaten from
the tree of which I commanded you that you should not
eat?” (Gen 2:11). Look at Adams immediate response:
“The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me
of the tree, and I ate.” (v.12) Adam quickly points
the finger at Eve for giving him the fruit, and also
at God for giving him the woman in the first place!
And when God asks Eve what she has done, she replies,
“The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (v. 13) She is
quick to point out that it was the serpent’s fault for
deceiving her.

I can relate to Adam and Eve. I can tell that they
realized what they did was wrong, but they also wanted
to divert the blame and not receive the consequences.
They still had to pay for their choices and were cast
out of the garden. Just like my 8-yr-old son, I dislike
when I do something wrong and “get caught”, but I am
reminded that when I take responsibility and ask for
forgiveness, I am able to move forward. Just like the
softball player who made the error, I know that if I
make an excuse for wrong actions, I’ll do the same thing
next time. Let’s take responsibility and not make excuses.
The consequences will be much better for us!