The Serpent Leader and Blame Avoidance

UV 3447/10000 The Serpent Leader and Blame Avoidance
And the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me- she gave me (fruit) from the tree, and I ate it.”

Genesis 3 v 12

In this one statement, we see the genesis of blame-avoiding behaviour for the first time as well as the beginnings of the gender conflict. The converse of blame avoidance is credit-seeking behaviour. Adam not just blamed Eve, his wife but also God for having given her to be with him. The woman, Eve in turn passed on the blame to the serpent leader. The buck stopped on the serpent leader’s table and he has no one to pass it on to. He does not even attempt a reply to defend his behaviour to the Almighty God. It implies that all blame for wrong doing rests ultimately not on people or humans but on the serpent leader. The Servant Leader, Jesus in contrast takes the rap and the blame for all the unworthy deeds of omission and commission of all humanity. The Servant Leader also gives the glory of His good deeds on Earth to the Father in heaven.

We, too should emulate the Servant Leader and avoid passing on the blame to others. Instead, we should check what is our responsibility and our response in a particular situation. We should also avoid credit-seeking behaviour as it sows the seed of rivalry and conflict. Like the Servant Leader we should aim to be self effacing, unassuming, not having any airs about ourselves or esteem ourselves more highly than we should. The Holy Spirit plants the fruit of humility in us so that we always regard ourselves unworthy of the grace and mercy of the Lord.

We should take responsibility for the decisions we take, the mistakes we make. Instead of passing on the blame, we should try to fix the problem or improve the situation. The Messiah will help us come out of the mess we find ourselves in. If we are tempted or tested by the serpent leader, we should seek out the wisdom, counsel, grace and help of the Lord to overcome it, not to succumb to it. Nothing is too difficult for the Lord and nothing is impossible for Him. He knows exactly what to do in crisis situations for instance, when the marriage banquet ran short of wine, He did not hesitate for a second. He gave specific directions to fill the six large stone jars with water. He then asked the servants to serve from it. He can surely help us address our shortcomings, our deficiencies, our shortages and scarcities specifically and effectively.