Seton Magazine Catholic Homeschool Articles, Advice & Resources
2nd Week of Advent
Scripture Reading: Genesis 3:9-15, 20
In the book of Genesis, we read about a lot of “firsts,” such as the first man, the first woman, the first sin, the first murder. But there’s another first that seems to escape most people’s notice and that’s the first Blame Game. This particular “first” took place in the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve had sinned.
After Adam and Eve had sinned, it was confrontation time. All parties involved were summoned to appear before God in order to be interrogated. At this “trial,” God was not seeking information; He was seeking confessions. Instead of hearing those confessions, however, He heard excuses and witnessed much finger-pointing. Adam blamed Eve. Eve blamed the serpent. The only one who didn’t make any excuses for his actions that day was the serpent!
All parties, however, were punished by God in different ways because in the sight of God, each one of them was personally responsible for his or her actions.
Advent is a time for penitential reflection in our lives. It’s a time when we find ourselves looking within to see if there are areas that need to be cleaned out in order to make our hearts ready for the King’s coming. Sometimes, however, instead of giving God the repentance He desires, we find it easier to blame others for the things we do, say, or think. If so and so didn’t get us so upset all of the time, we wouldn’t lose our temper, say bad words, or walk around with a chip on our shoulder. We wouldn’t have this bad attitude. If we weren’t picked on so much when we were children, maybe we’d be more open to correction today as adults. The list goes on and on.
The longer we blame others for our own actions, however, the more we put off the repentance that God desires.
Are there areas in your life that you believe would not be there if it were not for such and such or so and so? If so, then you are blaming others for your own actions. Men may tempt us to sin against God, but only we have the power to enter into that sin. No one can force us to sin.
In today’s journal entry, be honest with both yourself and God and write about those areas that you may have been blaming on others. The quicker we own up to these things, the quicker we’ll get them out of our lives and be able to move forward in our walk with God.
