Stand for Yourself

I don't understand people today.

How have we devolved so fully into the realm of blaming others for our problems? When did it become standard for us to point fingers ever outward, never inward? How has it become a given that the other guy is the problem? and why do we let these externalized fallacies drive our thoughts and actions?

First, an open admission. I do it too. I blame the driver in front of me for going too slow when I'm driving 45 in a 35. I complain that my boss has unrealistic expectations for workloads, and mistreats his employees, when I could be buckling down and addressing the problems with the project, or treating him with a higher level of respect. I complain that the government is stealing my hard earned money to pay for policies that I think are doomed to fail, yet I sit back and allow other people to do the heavy lifting of developing, proposing, and spreading alternatives.

Even in faith, I externalize. I bemoan what I consider the slow fading of true Christianity as so many pastors spread the apostasies of 'your best life now', and 'Christ will solve your problems,' and yet I sit silently by while friends and family members fall victim to these misrepresentations. Worst of all, I pity or question the direction of those who do not have Christ in their lives, yet every day I let countless opportunities pass by to share the Truth with those who do not know or believe it.

As I look around, I am constantly bombarded with terrible exernalizations. Infidelity by a man who feels that his wife mistreats or ignores him. Drunkenness to escape the pain of an unfulfilling life. Suicide attempts by a woman because she feels she has no friends. Spousal abuse. Rape. Theft. Murder. So many detestable acts that, in the mind, are some how the other guy's fault.

Looking at that list compared to my own personal admission, one could be tempted to say, "Well, yours really aren't that bad." In my view, my list really isn't all the different. It's just a question of scale. It's essentially one step beyond from cussing a guy for driving too slow, to letting road rage take control. It's a fairly short step from blaming the boss for mistreating you to pocketing a little cash from the till because "They owe it to you."

So the next time you get angry at the other guy for what he's screwed up for you, turn the camera on your self. What role did you play? What is your appropriate share of the blame? What can you do going forward to improve the situation? My hope is that if even a few of us begin to put more of the blame where it truly belongs, and take appropriate, Godly actions in response, the world will be just that little bit better of a place.

I ask the Lord for the strength and humility to follow my own advice in this.