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When I visited a doctor to check out symptoms commonly
associated with cancer, I asked the respected specialist
what I might have done to cause this condition.
???We don??™t play the blame game around
here,??? he replied. ???We just find out what??™s wrong and treat
it.???
Too many spend their lives playing the
blame game.
Husbands and wives blame each other for
faults they believe have caused marital difficulties,
wayward children or financial floundering.
Grown children blame their parents for
personality problems, drug and alcohol addictions, dashed
dreams, wrecked romances; even unrealized potential.
A woman who was successful in business
and apparently happy joined a group that specialized in
prodding their memories about childhood trauma as the result
of growing up with an alcoholic. After weeks of resurrecting
old hurts, she became so bitter at her father (who no longer
used alcohol) that she required hospitalization and
counseling; her business was in shambles. The blame game
nearly destroyed her.
A church in decline often blames the
pastor for lack of numerical and spiritual growth. Pastors
sometimes blame church board members or other leaders.
Members of one struggling church now find themselves in a
quandary; they think their drop in attendance must be due to
hypocrisy among them but can??™t seem to identify the
hypocrites. They don??™t know who to blame.
After the tragic loss of life in the attack on Pearl Harbor
on December 7, 1941, some blamed President Roosevelt,
claiming he knew the attack was coming but saw it as an
opportunity to lead the nation into war as a means of
boosting the economy out of the lingering doldrums of the
Great Depression. More than sixty years later, that
groundless rumor still keeps surfacing.
Now the blame game team is on the field
again, producing accusations about who??™s due the most blame
for the horrific events of 911. Terrorists must delight in
the division being caused by those casting baseless charges
at patriotic people who were doing their best to protect
us. In war, division is the ultimate weapon of mass
destruction.
The first century church had many
reasons to place blame. Peter, their chief spokesman, who
had boasted of his courage and loyalty, had been heard
denying his Lord three times before the crucifixion.
Thomas, for one weak week, hadn??™t been able to summon faith
enough to believe in the resurrection. Judas, the
treasurer, had sold out for thirty pieces of silver, then
committed suicide and had to be replaced. Their survival as
a group, let alone any success in fulfilling their mission,
must have seemed doubtful.
But ten days later all was changed.
This divided company put away their differences, banished
blame and focused on the need of people hearing their
message. When they were in danger of persecution, they kept
on praying and preaching.
The doctor who refused to play the
blame game set out to find what had caused my scary symptoms
and found himself stumped. A thorough examination, x-rays,
etc. gave no hint of anything wrong. And those symptoms have
never returned. I??™m convinced this was a clear case of
answered prayer.
What can we do when answers elude us?
We can blame others for the spot we??™re in or we can pray.
Let??™s stop playing the blame game and join others in praying
for the defeat of terrorism, guidance for national leaders
and peace (1 Timothy 2:1-2).
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To read archived stories, click on this link:
http://archives.zinester.com/9516/2004
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Blessings to you today
Bob Johnston
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