The Blame Game

In Tegucigalpa  the trash is collected twice a week as it is in many cities here in the United States. I was accustomed to putting my trash out the night before pickup as it usually ran in our neighborhood by seven A.M. One evening as I went to put the trash out the lady across the street nearly attacked me with her broom. It seemed she was upset because the stray dogs in the area were getting into the trash.

The little lady was constantly sweeping the sidewalk in front of her house and the houses to either side of hers. My roommate and I always found this amusing as it was impossible to keep the street clean. People in this part of the world are just as likely to throw their trash in the streets as they are to put it in the trash can. She was determined to keep her area of the city clean, however.

This particular evening as I went to put the trash out she came running over to me waving her broom. She began to yell at me for putting the trash out too early where the dogs could get into it. As she waved her broom she got more and more excited. She told me how all of the problems in her country was the fault of the Americans because "you think you can come down here and do as you please without following the rules." With each accusation her voice raised several octaves. By this time I was livid and told her I was leaving the trash there and turned to walk off. She followed me yelling that she was going to call the district and have me thrown out of the country. As I walked off she was saying that I could go home and put my trash in the streets there if I wanted to.

As I thought about what she said I got more and more upset.  It was easy to justify my feelings. Hadn't I come several thousand miles to bring her people the gospel. What if I just went home and let them do as they please, I thought. I can preach to people in the United States if they don't want me here. It took some serious prayer time to realize how wrong my feelings were. 

The scripture tells us that all of us have sinned and come short of God's glory. That's right, all of us. The basic problem with humanity is that few of us are willing to own up to our mistakes. It is easier to blame someone else. This little lady was convinced that I, as the foreigner, was the cause of her problems. But haven't we in America done the same thing? We blame society, family, the schools, the system and anything else we can think of for our problems. It keeps us from having to feel personally responsible for anything. 

It is not a new thought. Adam blamed Eve for tempting him to eat the fruit; Eve blamed the serpent. I'm sure that if the serpent could have blamed someone else it would have. In the end, all of their excuses didn't matter to God. Punishment was meted out accordingly. One day our excuses will not matter either. Each of us will answer to God for our own actions. The only answer is to acknowledge our own responsibilities now, repent, and allow him to cover our faults with his grace. 

I wonder if Adam and Eve's punishment would have been less severe if they would have confessed instead of blaming? Just a thought .....

Prayerfully Yours,

Sullivan Jones