Thursday, September 18, 2008

The Blame Game

Currently there is a lot of blame going on in the news. Blame for the economy, for the Hurricane recovery effort, for healthcare and on and on. You name it, someone is pointing the finger with blame for it. This is one game we don’t want to teach our kids. In fact we want to help our kids think and react differently than wasting valuable time blaming others. The Blame Game has been around since the beginning of time, from the Garden of Eden until present day.

My thoughts go back to the Biblical account of Mary and Martha who had a houseful of people to entertain. Martha is overwhelmed by her challenge of feeding all the people, while Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus. Remember that Jesus recently fed over 5000 people with a few fish and loaves of bread. Martha’s solution for her challenges was to walk in and point the finger at Mary. Martha was going to the wrong source, for it was Jesus who was able to handle the situation. Martha should have sought Jesus’ help first and listen to His instructions. He may have told her not to worry about it since He could handle the food issue, or He may have told her to sit down for a while and then instructed Mary to help Martha in the kitchen. We don’t know how the rest of the story played out, but what we do know is that Mary had chosen the better plan to sit at Jesus’ feet.

How can we teach our kids (and ourselves) to be positively proactive rather than negatively reactive? Here are some questions to ask ourselves when we feel as though an injustice has taken place or an opportunity for grumbling has arisen.

Have I prayed and talked to the Lord about this situation?
Is there any responsibility I need to take for what has happened?
Is my blaming, complaining or grumbling helping or doing any good? (Most likely there is a two-letter word which answers this question and it begins with an “N”)
What glimmer of hope can I see in the situation?
How can I be a part of the solution?


Let’s teach our kids instead of pointing the finger and saying, “It’s your fault,” rather to ask, “What can I do to help make it right?”

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