By: Obed Pineda
Since Eden, man has often struggled with taking responsibility for his actions. This reality is evinced by how prolific mankind has become in the art of self-justification. At Eden, Adam and Eve placed blame on another as an explanation for their “unintentional” disobedience (cf. Genesis 3:11-13). Curiously, their reaction of hiding when “they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day” countered their plea before God (Genesis 3:7-10). Their own guilty conscience served as a witness against them in their transgression of God’s commandment “for if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things” (1st John 3:20). After Israel had suffered three years of severe drought as had been previously announced by the Lord’s prophet Elijah (cf. 1st Kings 17:1, 18:1-2),upon meeting the prophet King Ahab queried, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel” (1st Kings 18:17)? There is no question that the king of Israel was accusing Elijah of being responsible for the severe famine brought upon by the drought, even though he was to blame for kindling God’s wrath against them. Holy Writ declares “now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him” and further states, “Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him” (1st Kings 16:30, 33). Ahab’s audacious claim that a holy man of God was “troubling” him and his kingdom unveils his dulled hearing and numbed conscience. It was not uncommon for the Israelite king to place the responsibility of his trespasses on the prophets of Jehovah God, for he declared to Jehoshaphat of Micaiah the son of Imlah, “I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil” (1st Kings 22:8). His impenitent and arrogant spirit regrettably mimicked Balak, king of Moab, who after stubbornly refusing to accept that Balaam was not being allowed by the Lord to curse his enemies angrily proclaimed, “flee to your place. I said I would greatly honor you, but in fact, the Lord has kept you back from honor” (Numbers 24:11). It is undeniable that these examples of evil men attributing the consequences of their sin to others, continues to take place in our current civilization. It has been said before that the present judicial system does not work efficiently, and perhaps this prolific practice of not taking responsibility for one’s actions is a major reason why. In an effort to avoid paying the consequences of a crime, the wicked cunningly exploits the letter of the law by precedents set previously by other wicked men. A crooked attorney who is great at his job will counsel his client not to ask questions if he is suspicious of illegal actions occurring at his place of business so that when all is uncovered, he may find refuge under “plausible deniability.” This legal plea promotes that it is better for a man to remain in the obscurity of ignorance rather than search out the matter and correct it. Another example that has recently been in vogue in the courtrooms is that of “temporary insanity.” The legal definition of this plea is that the defendant (the one being accused of a crime) was incapable of knowing what he or she was doing when the crime was taking place due to brief insanity. A film was released not too long ago exploring a 1981 murder trial in Connecticut where the defendant entered a plea of not guilty on the basis of “demonic possession.” In other words, this man confessed to murder but claimed that the devil made him do it! There is very little doubt that he had found inspiration from the infamous Son of Sam case of 1977 where the serial killer also claimed that he was solely obeying the commands of a demon who appeared to him in the form of his neighbor Sam’s dog. The sad reality of all of these cases is that it illuminates just how proficient mankind has become in finding ways to try and justify the practice of sin. The act of exploiting loopholes to elude punishment for one’s immoral actions provides a glimpse into the past where the Holy Spirit reveals that “the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). Behold the chilling culmination of denying responsibility for one’s behavior. Those who persist in excusing their bad habits by shifting blame to anything or anyone but themselves, are unaware that they are slowly removing the edge off their conscience. They become so accustomed to practicing this evil that they eventually come to love the lie “having their own conscience seared with a hot iron” (1st Timothy 4:2). An impenitent heart is what sprouts from the seed of deniability which leads to eternal death. The inspired Solomon acquiesces, “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. Happy is the man who is always reverent, but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity” (Proverbs 28:13-14). It is vital to learn that it is insufficient to solely admit (i.e. confess) that one has transgressed Divine law. Solomon sagely includes the necessity of forsaking disobedience. He who is prolific in self-justification does so “because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil” (Ecclesiastes 8:11). Godly repentance is displayed when a contrite spirit leads to a moral transformation. The individual is who truly sorry for having engaged in unfruitful works will work diligently in restoring and repairing the damage caused by those regrettable decisions. The Master taught the value of accepting the blame and the consequences of one’s sins in His parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (cf. Luke 18:9-14). Luke declares that the Lord Jesus “spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others” (Luke 18:9). The Pharisee portrayed in the parable came to be self-righteous by ignoring that he was a sinner and for this reason he “prayed thus with himself” and was not justified by God (Luke 18:11, 14). Undoubtedly, pride is the primary reason man frequently rejects accepting the responsibility for his actions, thus becoming prolific in self-deceit. However, it is crucial to remember that a day of judgment has been set by the Almighty and thus to those who refuse to repent Holy Writ warns, “prepare to meet your God” (Amos 4:12)!