This is a common statement. We don’t often like to accept blame. It’s our natural tendency to come up with excuses for doing what we should have done. But in reality, we are often long on excuses, but short on any good reasons.
I just looked up quotes on making excuses. Here are some good ones:
“He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.” – Benjamin Franklin
“Never make excuses. Your friends don’t need them and your foes won’t believe them.” – John Wooden
“There are a thousand excuses for every failure, but never a good reason.” – Mark Twain
“You can have results or you can have excuses. You cannot have both.” – Unknown
I thought some of these were rather illuminating. They seem to cut to the heart of the issue. We find that our excuses are but a weak attempt at shining the light somewhere other than on ourselves. None of us like to have a failure on our record. And we certainly don’t like it to be our own fault. I’ve found, though, that the most admirable thing to do is just admit your failure. Even though we don’t like being at the center of our shortcomings, it’s the purest portrayal of the truth. People will also respect someone who owns up to these things as well.
One thing I think I’ve realized is that, in dodging responsibility, I’m mainly only hurting myself. Because if I don’t take the blame for failing, there’s no reason for me to change or improve so that I don’t fail the next time. Did you know that the moment you own up to your faults is the moment you can start to do something about them? Up until that point there’s no requirement for us to do anything different. Because up until that point, and in our own minds, the fault and blame lie elsewhere. This doesn’t place any requirement of change at our doorstep. Maybe that’s why we like to duck blame so much. But ‘It’s not my fault’ are the famous last words of someone who finds themselves stuck in the same situation over and over again. As painful as that is for us to admit, that’s the point at which we can change our situation. And often change requires a little bit of pain.
One important thing to remember is that accepting blame will require some courage on our parts. We have to have the courage to admit our failures, and then have the courage to make the necessary changes not to repeat them. Also, when I accept the responsibility, it also makes it clearer what changes I need to make. Because the blame that is mine also illustrates what I need to change. So, in accepting that responsibility, I’m really only doing myself a favor. Now I can produce more positive and fruitful outcomes in my life.
Ducking blame is an old a practice as human beings. If you look at Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden it was a never ending blame game. And it’s the same situation we have today. So, how do we address our failures properly, as God would have us to?
AV Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?” This verse illustrates for us how we sometimes don’t even know our own hearts. We not only try to convince others it’s not our fault, but we try to convince ourselves as well. So, essentially we’re lying to ourselves. God will reveal these things to us, though, as we ask Him to. When He does we have a good starting point for making a change in our lives.
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AV James 5:16 says, “Confess [your] faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” I believe the beginning of making a change lies in confession. We admit to ourselves and to God. But confessing to others can be an amazing thing as well. This can be a life-changing event. This is where healing takes place. The Bible emphasizes our need to confess our shortcomings to one another. This can be done with a close friend or a small group of friends. It can also be a freeing experience.
AV Matthew 5:8 says, “Blessed [are] the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” The value of a pure and clean heart is aptly illustrated in this verse. We shall see God. We will not only see Him work in our lives, but we will have communion and fellowship with Him. This opens the door for our relationship with Him.
How do we gain a pure heart? AV 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Ultimately it’s important that we confess our sins to God. He’s the only one who can cleanse our hearts. And He has promised to do it when we come to Him humbly and fully admit our sins to Him. Taking the full brunt of responsibility on ourselves.
AV Hebrews 2:3 says, “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard [him];” This states for us that our salvation rests on Jesus and His work on the cross. This salvation is available to us as we fully confess our sins to Him and trust Him with it.
AV Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
AV James 5:16 says, “Confess [your] faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
AV Matthew 5:8 says, “Blessed [are] the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”
AV 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
AV Hebrews 2:3 says, “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard [him];”