Pointing Fingers

“’Who told you that you were naked?  Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you

Not to eat from?’  The man said, ‘The woman you put here with me –

She gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate.”

Genesis 3:11-12

There is a quote that is credited to Ronald Reagan, that I really love.  “Can you imagine how much we could accomplish if we weren’t worried about who would get the credit?”  Lately the following slight variation on that quote has been running through my mind – “Can you imagine how much we could accomplish if we weren’t worried about who to blame?”

Like all of you, I was horrified (once again) by the senseless shooting of American congressman who were practicing for a charity ball game.   I am continuing to pray for the recovery of all who were wounded in the attack.  Yet it seemed for while that, as horrible as the attack was, one good thing was coming out of it.  For a little while all the vitriol and blaming and attacking of others was silenced and people in government, in the media and across America realized they were all countrymen first, regardless of their political party.  But then I woke up this morning, looked at the news from America, and it seemed that the truce was over    People, the media, the politicians were once again pointing fingers at each other.   

I need to say that such finger pointing is not unique to America.  There was a lot of it going on in the UK following their election last week. 

More importantly, for my purposes in this blog, finger pointing is not unique to the political world.  Unfortunately, it happens at work, at church, at school, in our neighborhoods, our families and our marriages We all do it.  Have you ever worked with anyone who could never admit fault?  If something went wrong, it was always someone else’s fault.  That’s finger pointing.  Have you ever gossiped about someone… made someone look bad in the eyes of others by sharing some embarrassing story about that person?  That’s finger pointing.  Have you ever tried to place the blame for something you did on someone else?  I have.  I lost one of my teacher’s books in the third grade.  Rather than own up to what I had done, I forged a classmate’s signature to make it look like she had lost the book, not me.

This is nothing new.  We all come from a long line of finger pointers. Adam was the first one.  When the Lord found him and Eve in the bushes, he asked Adam, “Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”   Listen Adam’s answer.  ‘The woman you put here with me – She gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate.”  His first, instinct, as a brand new sinner, was to point fingers. He blamed Eve for giving him the fruit.  He pointed the finger at God for making Eve. 

Why do we do that?  Shame, guilt, not wanting to get caught, fear of punishment, fear of what others might think?  Yes, it can be any or all of those things.  Sometimes it’s our own arrogant, self-righteousness belief that we couldn’t possibly be wrong.  Therefore, it has to be someone else’s fault. 

In the movie, Bridge of Spies, Tom Hanks keeps asking the Russian Spy if he’s nervous, if he’s afraid, if he’s worried.  Each time, the spy answers in a calm, even bored tone, “Would it help?”  The implication is that none of those things would change or help anything.  Well that’s even more true of pointing fingers.  Pointing fingers just makes things worse.  Pointing fingers divides.  Others go on the defensive and point their fingers back.  The argument grows hotter.  Relationships at work, at home, in church or where ever are poisoned.

So I challenge you - Imagine what would happen if we weren’t so worried about blaming and pointing fingers.  Imagine what would happen if instead of pointing fingers at each other, we each shouldered our share of the blame for things.  Imagine how it would change things if we each stood before God and each other and took the ancient confession as our own – “I confess to God Almighty and to you my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned in thought, word and deed by my fault, by my own fault, by my own most grievous fault…”  I know what God would do.  He has told us.  “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”   Right there in the garden, in response to their confession, He did this.  He promised them a savior who would crush the serpent’s head.  He gave His Son.  His Son Jesus shouldered the punishment for our most grievous fault when He died on the cross.  He rose again that we might be restored to God. That’s what God did.  And you know, forgiven in Christ, that’s what we could do for each other.  Instead of blaming, we could forgive each other.  Imagine that.

No imagine even more than that. Imagine what would happen if instead of pointing fingers and talking about each other – we talked to each other.  That’s what Jesus told us to do.  “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you.  If he listens to you, you have won your brother.”  Imagine what we would accomplish if our concern was to love… to win our brother or sister’s heart rather than blame them.  We really don’t have to imagine it.  God has shown us.  That’s why He didn’t send an angel.  He came Himself, in our flesh and blood – because He loved us… His desire was to win us for Himself.  And that’s what He did.  Imagine that.