Learning to Not Play the Blame game!

So, like any other time I wake up earlier than scheduled in the wee hours of the night, my thoughts go towards the Lord. As I speak to Him, I know He is about to share something with me... so, I wait with anticipation... this time was no different. The Lord started speaking to my spirit about "blame". You want to know one of the hardest three-word statements to make? It is, "I am wrong." It is so easy to point out the wrong in others. It is so easy to want it to be someone else’s fault. But is it ever hard to see our own flaws and where we went wrong; what we need to own up to. Over the years, I have been blamed for a lot of things, and rightly so. My sin and failures have caused grief, anxiety, and inconvenience for friends and family (and probably even for strangers I will never know about). I have also been blamed for things that were not my fault, things I was powerless to change. But I have stood on the other side of the fence hurling accusations at others in times past. If they had just done something different, I tell myself, I would not be in the mess I am in. But the Lord has taught me to take the blame and apologize not only when I am wrong but when I am not. It is called being humble; being the bigger person. I can honestly assess what I contributed to a conflict, admit where I went wrong, and ask for forgiveness. That response will lead to humility and increase the Lord’s blessing in my (your) life. Blame hurts. So whether guilty or not, we waste lots of time and mental energy trying to find someone else to carry it for us. Jesus offers us a better way to deal with blame. Even though He was blameless, He took upon Himself the sin of the world and carried it away (John 1:29). We often refer to Jesus as the sacrificial lamb, but He was also the final scapegoat for everything that is wrong with the world (Leviticus 16:10). Once we acknowledge our sin and accept Christ’s offer to take it away, we no longer have to carry the weight of our guilt. We can stop looking for someone to blame for what is wrong with us, and we can stop accepting blame from others trying to do the same. Thanks to Jesus, we can stop playing the blame game. And if I am blamed for something I did not do or I find myself being the scapegoat... honestly, I am okay with it, because Jesus did it for me. My prayer: help me, Lord, to be honest when I am at fault and to confess it to You—instead of looking for someone else to blame. Thank You for taking my blame on Yourself, because I know honesty about my (our) sin brings forgiveness.