Loser's Limp
Genesis 3:6-19
I seriously doubt that you or I will be able to stand before the Lord on judgment day and say, "But my wife made me do it," or "I did what I did because of my repressive childhood." We won't be able to blame the church, the school, the society, the government, or anyone else.
Introduction
Pete Hamill wrote an excellent article in the October, 1991 issue of READER'S DIGEST, which he called, "It's Not My Fault!" In it he referred to what he called "victimism" in America, the idea that wrong behavior is not one's own responsibility, but is rather the fault of someone else. Listen as I read a portion taken from Hamill's article.
Many people today live their lives under the never-questioned assumption that if they have problems, there must be someone else who is to blame. When questioned about some otherwise unacceptable behavior, it is always the fault of the justice system or the school system or the government, or their family or their parents or their spouse. Always, it is someone else who is to blame. Surely it isn't them!
Such "victimism" Hamill writes, "implies that nobody is personally responsible for the living of a life. The defeats, disappointments and failures once thought to be a part of each human being's portion on this earth are now always the fault of somebody else."
I dropped out of high school and can't get a job. It's not my fault. I'll go on welfare or start stealing cars. I started taking drugs as a teenager and now I can't remember things. It's not my fault. I deserve special medical treatment. I got married on a whim and now I can't stand this person I'm with. It's not my fault! I'll get a divorce.
In a ghetto, a woman points to a hole in the wall of her apartment put there by her boyfriend in a fit of anger. "Why doesn't the landlord fix that!" Why doesn't she fix it herself?
Shifting the blame to anyone but me. It's as old as the Garden of Eden. After Adam and Eve ate from the tree, God said in effect, "What is going on here?" Adam said, "The woman made me do it. It wasn't my fault. Eve said, "The Serpent made me do it! It wasn't my fault." Blame shifting. Refusing to take responsibility.
Zig Ziglar calls what I'm talking about "Loser's Limp." In his book, SEE YOU AT THE TOP. Football player chasing the runner toward the end zone – pulls up – losers limp.
Many start to believe their own excuses.
I want to point out three areas of life where blameshifting "victims" lose.
I. They Lose In Their Society.
Rapist can't stop – too much libido.
Surgery – staple stomach to lose weight – sue hospital for refg. Too close
Smokers sue tobacco companies
School shootings – blame society, police, parents, teachers, social workers
Adam and Eve did the same thing
Those who shun personal responsibility lose in their society.
II. They Also Lose in their Personal Lives.
A 60's folk song by Anna Russell, as quoted by Jay Adams in COMPETENT TO COUNSEL, characterizes what it is often like to go to a counselor.
I went to
my psychiatrist to be psychoanalyzed
To find out why I killed the cat and blackened my husband's eyes.
He laid me on a downy couch to see what he could find,
And here is what he dredged up from my subconscious mind:
When I was one, my mommy hid my dolly in a trunk,
And so it follows naturally that I am always drunk.
When I was two, I saw my father kiss the maid one day,
And that is why I suffer now from kleptomania.
At three, I had the feeling of ambivalence toward my brothers,
And so it follows naturally I poison all my lovers.
But I am happy; now I've learned the lesson this has taught;
That everything I do that's wrong is someone else's fault.
Alcoholics, Child abuse, homosexuals, theives, murderers, fornication, divorce
I Corinthians 6:9-11
The first step in change is accepting responsibility for your actions or, to put it another way, admitting you have a problem you need to deal with.
Shifting blame makes us losers in our society. It also makes us losers in our personal lives. But most seriously of all,
III. Those Who Shift Blame Lose with God.
Salvation demands repentance – admit I am a sinner
Can not blame others on judgment day – Parents, spouse, preacher, society, government, schools, neighborhood
1 Corinthians 10:13 There is a way of escape
2 Corinthians 5:10 we will stand before God in judgment
Revelation 2:10 – Remain faithful
Grace? Yes. On the basis of repentance.
Conclusion
Do you have the limp? Are you a blame shifter? An excuse maker? What are your reasons for not accepting responsibility for your actions? When are you going to stop it and accept responsibility? Things can never get better until you do...
Adapted from a Sermon by Dave Redick at http://preacherstudy.com/