Daily Focus - Who's Responsible?

Our monthly homeschool meeting was over, and we were cleaning the house after everyone had left. The young children of several couples had played together with our four children for most of the evening, and there was a trail of toys throughout the house. Walking to my son's room with my hands full of toys, I stopped short as I went through the doorway. I couldn't believe my eyes as I stared at his broken bed. The scene told me that the bed had been converted into a trampoline, and from the look of things, whoever had bounced on it had a good time.

Lining my children up for an interrogation didn't take long. One by one I drilled them with questions, trying to find out who was responsible. My anger at this senseless destruction probably prompted each one to claim innocence in the matter. After fifteen minutes of explanations, I realized that "nobody" was at fault. You know, "nobody" is that invisible person who lives at everyone's home — the one who gets the blame when bad things happen.

Our children are not the only ones who avoid taking the blame. We do, too, don't we? Who likes to admit their mistakes or suffer the consequences for their actions? We are all quick to let the blame fall on someone else, especially if there are so many people involved that the obvious offender cannot be found. The sin of Achan in Joshua 7 is a prime example. Not until God literally lined up the entire nation of Israel tribe by tribe did Achan finally confess his sin of stealing gold, silver, and a beautiful garment from the city of Ai. Caught in his deception, Achan and his family, as well as all of his belongings, were destroyed for violating God's holiness.

What about you? Do you weasel out of your mistakes by letting others take the blame for your actions? Do you have enough integrity to stand up and say, "It was my fault. I was responsible?" Whether the issue is big or little, don't wait until someone has to back you up against the wall before you admit you've done wrong. "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed" (James 5:16a).

Father, forgive me for staying silent and letting others suffer the consequences of my wrongs. Help me admit when I have made a mistake and not lie by trying to cover up the problem. In Jesus' name, Amen.