Blame Game

Whose fault is it if I do the wrong thing?

Praise is unseemly on the lips of a sinner, for it has not been sent from the Lord. For in wisdom must praise be uttered, and the Lord will make it prosper. Do not say, "It was the Lord's doing that I fell away" for he does not do what he hates. Do not say, "It was he who led me astray" for he has no need of the sinful. The Lord hates all abominations; such things are not loved by those who fear him. It was he who created humankind in the beginning, and he left them in the power of their own free choice. If you choose, you can keep the commandments, and to act faithfully is a matter of your own choice. He has placed before you fire and water; stretch out your hand for whichever you choose. Before each person are life and death, and whichever one chooses will be given. For great is the wisdom of the Lord; he is mighty in power and sees everything; his eyes are on those who fear him, and he knows every human action. He has not commanded anyone to be wicked, and he has not given anyone permission to sin. - Ecclus. 15:9-20

I can blame whoever I want, but in the end, it is my fault for making the wrong choices.

Sometimes, wisdom is easy. But most of the time, we fail to see it until we experience the consequences of not seeing it.

We may know the right thing to do, but choose the other instead. Isn't that our own doing?

I am reminded of the Flip Wilson routine when he played Geraldine. He would say, "The devil made me do it," which put the blame squarely on someone else.

When we pray the Lord's prayer, we ask God not to lead us into temptation, but we know that God doesn't lead us into temptation. We do that ourselves.

We see what others are doing, and we say, "Why not join them?"

Remember when your mom asked you why you did something, and you said your friend Joey did it, too? What did she say?

If Joey jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?"

Moms have wisdom. We should listen to them sometimes.

More to come...