Genesis 3:11 And he said"... "Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13 And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
This passage of scripture teaches us of one of the snares we must avoid at all cost, that of casting the blame for our actions on others. As Christians we are to take responsibility for the decisions we make, whether they result in good or evil, because the restoration process as is written in the bible, depends to a large extent on us acknowledging our wrongs and being willing to accept the consequences, whatever they may be. In the instance above, The Lord approached Adam first, for it was he that was given the supervisory role of managing the entire earth. Then Eve was called to account next, because of the part she played in enticing her husband to sin against God.
But what is worthy of note is that satan was called last, even though it was he who instigated the rebellion against God by tempting Eve. At the forbidden tree, the devil is the one who spoke first, but he was called to account last, because as far as responsibility goes, the order followed by God places the bulk of the responsibility on Adam's shoulders, then Eve, and lastly satan. In every case however, we see that the blame game was played, in that Adam suggested that if God had not given him Eve, he never would have sinned, and Eve in her turn blamed the serpent for deceiving her, and last but not least, satan probably blamed God for making the tree in the first place.
This pattern of blaming people, situations, or peer pressure for the sins and mistakes we make is not good, and should never be indulged by the Christian, for as we can clearly see, satan did not bully Eve into eating of the fruit, because in the spiritual warfare which we all are in, he is prevented from using brute force to cause us to yield to his temptations. Peer pressure, and flattery, and ensure, together with persecution, alienation and slander are the tools satan often employs, but under no circumstances can he force the Christian to sin, therefore, whatsoever sins, or errors, or mistakes that are committed by us, the responsibility rests on our shoulders.
When Hagar began to despise her mistress because she was flattered by the thought of being the mother of the promised seed, Sarah blamed Abraham for following the advice she himself gave to him, but when he took the matter to the Lord in prayer, God told him to listen to the next advice from his wife, because he did not consult with God first before having illegitimate, intimate relations with Hagar, who was not his wife by any means. And although some tough decisions needed to be made urgently, yet Abraham bore the full brunt of responsibility for his very own actions, because Sarah could suggest, but she could never use force. Let's read:
Genesis 16:1 Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. 4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes. 5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the Lord judge between me and thee.
If in these and similar situations, we attempt to cast the blame for our actions upon others, the road ahead will be very difficult, because the gifts of forgiveness and repentance are promised on condition of confession and acknowledging of our sins. It was Abraham's own choice to follow the advice of his wife, and the prevailing customs of the land in which he dwelt, hence the reason why in our day, as Christians we must be very careful not to make decisions based solely on what may be permitted by the laws of man, for we are cautioned to live by the word of God alone. Furthermore, whenever sin is committed, let us not look to others, to situations, or to satan as the cause, but let us rather take full responsibility for our actions so that the healing process may be instituted as quickly as possible.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which encourages us to confess our sins and our faults to God, so that pardon and peace may be our ongoing experience. Let's read:
1st John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His word. "Good night" and God bless!