Perplexing Passage – “The fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” (Jeremiah 31:29-30)

For years many thought Humpty Dumpty fell from the wall, but recently a new version of the story has emerged – he was pushed.

Man always wants to blame others for his actions. It started long ago when Adam and Eve attempted to explain their actions to God. Adam blamed God: “The wife you gave me was the problem.” Eve explained,  “the devil made me do it.” It is quite common to see T-shirts carry this logo.

God, through the prophet Jeremiah, was teaching that He will no longer accept “scapegoating” or blaming others  for your behavior. Every person will be responsible for their actions and accept the consequences. “You ate the sour grape and your teeth will be set on edge” (Jer. 20:30). Sooner or later every person will sit down to a banquet of consequences. God is very emphatic about this.

Today parents blame the teacher and school board for the poor academic performance of their child. The drug “pusher” responds, “I didn’t buy the drugs, the user did.” The drug user explains his behavior by saying “I am not responsible for my addiction to drugs since my parents left me when I was young.” The list of excuses goes on and on. Very few step up to the plate and accept full blame for their behavior and actions.

Anne Sullivan, Helen Keller’s nurse, made Helen Keller responsible for her own behavior regardless of her physical condition. The nurse would not accept Helen Keller’s excuses, and the result – Helen Keller’s behavior changed drastically and dramatically.

William Glasser, in his book, Reality Therapy, commented that healthy people don’t make excuses. There are sick people in our society today looking for someone to blame for the bad choices they have made. Remember, God stopped accepting excuses a long time ago.

Mar 24th by admin