This year there have been a few things that have happened with family and friends that have left me shaking my head and just generally confused. Actions that seem to not have a lot of good judgement behind them or decisions that are life altering. And things, that in the life of a Christian, are against our beliefs and morals.
But it isn't so much these actions and decisions that confuse me. Even as Christians we all make mistakes and don't always use our best judgement. Those things are ultimately between ourselves and God and it is He who we must seek forgiveness from.
But I do get angry about certain things, and just recently I came to realize that it is the excuses that I am tired of. It seems that no matter what someone does they tend to put the blame on someone or something else. It is similar to when we are children and a toy breaks and we blame it on someone else so that we don't get in trouble. But as we grow up, one of the first steps in becoming an adult is accepting that we have a choice in our life, and that on some level we are to be held accountable for what we decide. And what we decide to do in life also affects our children, or our spouse, or younger brothers and sisters that look up to us, or parents who have raised us and just wanted the best for us. So when we do fail or do wrong is it okay to just brush off that wrong with an excuse? To blame the problem on someone or something else entirely? Or does it help us grow as a person and show others that sometimes even when we make a mistake we can take accountability for what we did and still move on, instead of shifting all the blame onto something else.
It is similar to if a child was physically or emotionally abused as a child. That does leave lasting scars and issues in that child's life. And in part, it can shape who they become. But as an adult it is not a reason for that person to abuse another person. Or to say "I steal because I was missing something as a child". Or to cheat on a spouse "because they were never shown love as a child". Because those are just excuses. You can not accept, admit, and ask for forgiveness in a wrong-doing if you won't even acknowledge that you were at fault for it or had a part in it.
Yes, everyone makes mistakes. Big ones, small ones, and in between ones. But we shouldn't be making excuses.
Who's forgiveness are they asking for? Yours? God's? And who made you the police of forgiveness? And most importantly, why do you think your owed any explanation at all about the decisions other adults make in their lives?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
ReplyDeleteThat was my point exactly. If you will re-read paragraph two you will see that the actions of these people are not what confuse me, and that I said it was between God and them. I don't WANT to know people's sins or their wrong doings.
But my whole point was when these sins and wrong doings hit the public light, I don't want to hear excuses about why it was okay for them to do what they did. I was talking about excuses here.
I just wanted to add, please go back and re-read this whole post. You totally misunderstood what I was posting about, and who I was posting about.
ReplyDeleteNo one owes me an explanation. No one needs to ask me for forgiveness. I wrote this whole post on a day when I heard someone else shrugging off any responsibilty on an outside factor. My whole point was if you are telling everyone your business stop with the excuses!
Me thinks that Anonymous took this particular posting too personal. Perhaps she has her own excuses for bad behavior?
ReplyDelete