I was in a conversation today concerning the recent shooting in our city. During this conversation, God somehow got the blame for allowing it to happen. I immediately said that God is sovereign and that His sovereign decision was to give mankind the ability to make choices. Unfortunately, bad choices often cause collateral damage to others, which is why God hates sin.
I see this on a much larger scale within the body of Christ. God will provide opportunities for us to walk in our destiny, yet He will still give us the ability to choose if we walk out His plan for our own lives. I remember last spring, I was struggling with a decision that I felt needed to be made, and as I awoke, I heard, “You can be appointed and anointed and still not complete your assignment.” I immediately thought of King Saul, who was appointed by God and anointed by the prophet Samuel, yet he made choices that disqualified him from his assignment. I knew that God was directing in my situation.
The sad thing is that when people make these wrong decisions, they will often play the victim card and blame others, or even God, when they do not complete their assignment. In Saul’s case, he admitted that the fear of the people caused him to sin and disobey God’s command. Sometimes, people get distracted and lose focus on what they are called to do. Love of money will become a stumbling block. Sometimes fear creates a reluctance to walk in the faith required for the assignment. At other times, laziness and resistance to paying the price to prepare for the assignment are the problems.
Regardless, I know God graciously works with all of us to make the necessary preparations and changes, but we must ultimately choose. He is patient to help us develop, but we must do our part. When we decide not to do these things, we cannot blame others if and when we disqualify ourselves from the assignment. Why is this important? Because blaming others will keep us in a place of defeat and victimization, affecting anything else we do.
When someone uses the victim or blame card, they will present things in a distorted way because the mind powerfully defends its own decisions, preventing a person from seeing the true self or the valid reasons things happened as they did. When this happens, they remove the potential to change and grow. And cycles will repeat.
Samuel was the prophet called to be a steward of God’s will for the nation of Israel. King Saul did not pay the price to hold onto the assignment, and the reason was revealed when God told Samuel that He was looking for a person after His own heart, (I Sam. 13:14) and this one would be obedient and do whatever God asked of him. We see that this was difficult for Samuel, as God asked, “How long will you grieve over Saul?” (1 Sam. 16:1). Our love for the person can cause us to overlook their poor choices and prolong what God wants to do. God had a plan, and neither Samuel nor Saul could prevent God’s plan from taking place.
I have known a person for years who has consistently blamed others when he failed at a relationship, lost a job, or had any problem in life. He never looked at himself and asked, “How could I have prepared better, or what could I have done differently?” His response was always that someone else caused it, or he was mistreated. Unfortunately, things have not gotten better for him, and he continues to blame others, even in his old age.
So we must remember to look at ourselves first when disappointments come, and not fall into blaming others to save face with those close to us. And secondly, if we are the ones stewarding the work of the Lord, our love for someone cannot inhibit or prolong what God wants to do. How long can we grieve over the Sauls in our lives without grieving God? In the process, we may lose our own assignment!
