The Blame Game

Oscar Wilde once said, “It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you place the blame!”

The Guinness Book of World Records recently awarded Blaming the title of the world’s “Oldest Game.”  The Blame Game began in the Garden of Eden, played by the first two sinners.  The original blame was actually worth double points, because Adam blamed both Eve and God for his act of cosmic rebellion!  Adam blamed Eve for giving him the fruit from the forbidden tree, followed by a more subtle blaming of God for giving him Eve in the first place.  And we have been blaming ever since.

This game has become so popular that back in 1999 MTV aired a 30-minute game show entitled “The Blame Game.”  In a fictional courtroom setting, two “ex’s” were pitted against each other to ultimately decide who was to blame for the breakdown and breakup of their relationship.  The saddest aspect of the world’s oldest game is everybody plays and nobody wins. 

We cast blame for countless reasons.  We fear taking responsibility when something goes wrong, so we blame . . . just like Adam did in the Garden.  We seek the applause of man, so we blame others for our shortcomings, seeking to cast a better light on ourselves.  We blame parents for the way they raised us.  We blame coaches for the way they coached us.  We blame teachers for the way they taught us.  We blame the environment in which we were raised.  We blame the economy.  We blame the government.  Because we are sinners by both nature and by habit, blame is a part of everyday life.  Blame is simply part of our DNA. 

So . . . have you been playing the blame game lately?  Have you been blaming others?  Perhaps you’ve been on the receiving end of blame?  To be sure, blame marks every one of our horizontal relationships with other people.  And at times it marks our vertical relationship with God as we, like Adam, blame God for our lot in life.  At the deepest level, participation in the blame game is nothing more than a sinful attempt to rewrite a portion of our story so we can make ourselves look better to others and feel better about ourselves.   

And there is absolutely no need for it! All those who are in Christ stand before God blameless, because Jesus took their blame.  This is the great exchange; sinners stand sinless before a holy God because the One who knew no sin became sin for us. 

Jude, the brother of James and the half brother of Jesus, gave us a compelling reason for refusing to participate in any aspect of the blame game:

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever.  Amen. (Jude 24-25)

Notice the word blameless and how it is applied to the believer.  The believer is blameless today in the sight of God because of what Jesus did on the cross—paying the penalty for every sin, past, present, and still to come.  The believer is clothed in the righteousness of Christ and stands blameless before God, in spite of living a life that is worthy of unending blame.  Jesus has made us blameless before God, setting us in the seat of holy honor, without spot or stain.  Meditate on the word blameless for a moment, and you will see just how remarkable it is when it is applied to you! 

Jude gives to us one of the most incredible promises in all of sacred Scripture.  Blame has been nailed to that dirty tree.  Blame for the believer is as far as the east is from the west.  Jesus became our blame, making us blameless before God.  Blame was washed clean in the blood of the Lamb, making every believer blameless.

The next time you have an opportunity to play the blame game, flatly refuse to take it!  Don’t blame others, regardless of what has happened, and don’t let it bother you if others blame you.  Jesus climbed Golgotha’s Hill and ended the blame game for every child born of grace, exchanging our unending blame for His unimaginable blessing. 

This is the gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!