Who's To Blame?

I was reading my Bible yesterday and came across the issue of responsibility for our actions and it really got me thinking. I thought about how this is an issue that people all over the world try to escape and as a US citizen living in Kenya, I get to see how people in two different cultures do all that they can to escape responsibility for their actions. In the US many people blame their addictions and crimes on their situation or how they have been treated by others. In Kenya, I see people in positions of power doing whatever they please with the mindset that as long as they don’t get caught, they are doing nothing wrong and even when they are caught, they do whatever is necessary to avoid punishment.

In Ezekiel chapter 18, God uses Ezekiel as his messenger to tell the people that a father is not responsible for the sins of his son and likewise a son is not responsible for the sins of his father. This does not mean the sin has no affect on the other person. A person who is abused or molested by a parent will have some very traumatic experiences that will impact them for a lifetime. Likewise, a son or daughter of corrupt politicians or business owners see bad values and are taught a dog eat dog view of the world. But they are not responsible for the decisions of their parents. What they are ultimately responsible for is what they say and do in light of their situations and life experiences. To me this at least relieves part of the burden, knowing the actions and thoughts of others do not affect my standing in the eyes of God. Then as I examine my life and compare it to the expectations God has laid out in the Bible, and see the righteousness required for a man or woman, I realize that there is no way any of us can meet these expectations and we all fall short. Our sins, no matter how big or small, separate us from an intimate relationship with God and there is nothing we can do on our own to restore that relationship.

Thinking about this scares the mess out of me until I get to Jesus. The interesting thing is that Jesus doesn’t take away the expectations of being righteous or the responsibility we have for our actions, He takes the consequences for when we fall short and sin. In His sacrifice for us, He took on the punishment for our past, present, and future shortcomings so that we can still enjoy an intimate relationship with the Holy God and give Him the glory He deserves. The high expectations are still there, and we still have the responsibility to live up to these expectations no matter what our situation is or how our past experiences have affected us. We all desperately need Jesus, not only as an example on how to live a righteous life or for the strength he provides in helping us live this life, but mostly for the grace and forgiveness He gives when we turn our back on our responsibility and fall short of God’s righteousness.