WHOSE FAULT IS THIS?

 A friend from long ago had a parrot and two tiny dogs--yappers--you know the type!  He had problems galore trying to get the two dogs house broken.  Did I mention the parrot not only talked but was a great mimic?  As he let me in the door of his house one day, I heard his voice from the back of the house saying,

"WHO DID THAT ON THE FLOOR?"

His parrot was parroting his owner and looking for someone to blame for the latest mess on the floor left by one of the yappers.  This has been over 30 years ago and I remember it like it was yesterday.  For some mysterious reason I cannot remember where I put my book last night, but what happened 30 years ago it is as vivid as if it were yesterday.  NOW, if dogs could talk or point, I am fairly certain there would be a great deal of blame shifting and denial going on.  Who wants to suffer the shame and embarrassment of being the guilty dog (literally).  

 Most of us would prefer to not take the blame for anything which will humiliate us.  We over-ride our nagging conscious and do the dirty deed and quickly begin to figure out a way around admitting we did it.  At the very least as one of the songs from "Chicago" so well put it, "He Had It Coming" will be singing from our lips as our justification .  

 

Recently I saw "Cruella" with friends.  NOW, you may think this is another Disney movie meant to entertain.  I came away thinking it a great example of blame shifting for one's evil ways.  OH and do not get me started on the "Nature vs Nurture" debate.  Estella who became Cruella was basically a two hour tale of why she became Evil Cruella.  

Blame shifting goes back to the beginning of mankind.  Adam had his finger out pointing at Eve before God could get the question all the way out.  'She made me do it!'  By the time children can talk they are trying to shift the blame for their mis-doings.  They will stare you in the eye and deny, deny, deny.  It is if they believe  they did not do it, they can convince their parent of the same.

We are created sinful.  We also are created  wanting to deny our sin or explain it away.  It is amazing when the shortest route out would be a confession, we will go to great lengths to shift the blame.  We will deny fault sometimes even when caught red handed by blaming someone else for causing us to do it.  At the end of the day, we are left with no one to blame but ourselves.

We have a "Get Out of Jail Free" card for our mis-doings, BUT we have to first confess to use the card.  Why is it so difficult to confess?  Perhaps it goes back to the desire mankind has for placing himself on the throne.  God is without fault-perfect-blameless, so follow me here, if we are not guilty of wrong (sin) then there is no reason to confess.  Well then--

WHOSE FAULT IS THIS THEN?

Remember this old adage---Confession is good for the soul  ?  Time to come clean- own up and start again. 

"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

  If we confess our sins,

 he is faithful and just,

 and will forgive our sins 

and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

I John 1:8-9