Playing the Blame Game

"He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion" (Proverbs 28:13)

Did you ever "play the blame game" as kids, beloved? You know, pointing the finger at the other kid when it was actually you who did the deed? When it comes to such an example from Scripture, we are always quick to point out Eve blaming the serpent when confronted by God about the forbidden fruit, or how about Adam blaming God because He was the One who gave that pesky woman to him in the first place!

Playing the blame game is always deadly when it comes to our relationship with God. This writer declares definitively that "he who conceals his sins will not prosper," no if's, and's or but's about it! To "conceal" one's sins is to hide them in any of a number of ways that we humans have become notoriously adept at doing. Sometimes we simply deny that they even exist. "What sin?" we ask with that babyish look of innocence upon our faces. If we do so long enough, perhaps those asking will just go away and we won't have to deal with them.

Or perhaps we "conceal" our sins by blaming them on someone or something else. If he or she had not said what they said to us or had not done what they did to us...you know, that sort of thing. Counselors like to call this little practice "transferal of guilt." Sometimes it is "circumstance" upon which we lay the blame for our actions. We blame the pressure or the stress or the "no way out" that we claim led to the bad choice that we made.

Whatever the "cover" that we may use, beloved, the Scriptures make it clear that such action won't cut it. The focus of "prospering" here is primarily that of the spiritual realm. In other words, God's not buying it! There will always be a ripple-effect that will eventually catch up with us whenever we "conceal" our sins and refuse to deal with them honestly and, most of all, biblically.

So what is the alternative to "the blame game"? First of all, this writer indicates that "confession" is necessary. Have you ever heard the expression that "confession is good for the soul"? Well, believe it! The word "confess" in the New Testament means primarily to agree with God or to speak the same thing that God has spoken. When God calls a thing a sin, just agree with Him and call it that in your own life. The road gets much easier when you don't start out by disagreeing with God! Just admit up front that you did the deed. Then the writer adds the quality of "forsaking" to the equation. It is far too easy, as human nature today has proven, to go and "confess" to someone, then keep right on committing the same foul deed! True confession requires total abandonment of the action. Get as far away from that sinful act as you possibly can. Put it completely and permanently out of your life. Come to hate it as much as God has always hated it, even when you were relishing the temporary pleasure of it.

God's personal promise to us is that, whenever we "confess and forsake" the sin, He will be abundant in His compassion, His mercy upon our life. Forgiveness and restoration will be ours, the welcoming back of the prodigal, whenever we face up and 'fess up as God's word here clearly commands.

Don't play the blame game, beloved. It's a dead-end street with no alleys for a quick way out. Come straight to the God who loves you and plead the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Take it from one who knows - it is the only path to cleansing of spirit and mind, to restoration of purpose and fruitfulness, to the return of joy and genuine worship. Don't play the blame game!

Ron