Quit #5 Quit Blaming

Intro:

Genesis 2

New Living Translation Chapter 2

The LORD God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. 16 But the LORD God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”

New Living Translation Chapter 2

He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him.

21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the LORD God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man.

23 “At last!” the man exclaimed.

“This one is bone from my bone,

and flesh from my flesh!

She will be called ‘woman,’

because she was taken from ‘man.’ ”

24 This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.

25 Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.

Perimeter—Genesis Chpt 2:24,25

Serpent’s words

Eve—vs 6 — allowed herself to be more convinced by the enemy’s words than God’s words

Vs 7—sewed fig leaves

Vs 8,9—God pursued them knowing what they had done.

Vs 11-14 — Blame Game

Why do you think it is easy to blame rather than taking ownership?

Blaming comforts us, at least for a while, with the illusion that we are in control.

Do you think this truly gives us control?

It actually accomplishes the opposite, stripping us of our God-given personal power and keeping us helplessly stuck in immaturity.

Examples of Blame Game comments:

You are ruining my life.

The church is not meeting my needs.

It is because my job doesn’t pay enough that I have so much debt.

Credit card companies are ruining my life.

I’m not growing spiritually because the church is so immature—OR—because I’m not being fed.

Description of Blamers:

when playing the victim—sense of moral superiority over others. = disowning responsibility.

Typically angry and preoccupied with what others should be doing rather than facing their own discomfort.

Six Signs that indicate you may be using blame to avoid personal responsiblity:

You feel you have been dealt a “bad hand” in life.

You don’t think you can change anything in you life for the better.

You view negative occurrences and relationships in your life as being out of your control.

You rarely believe you are wrong.

You think apologizing is a sign of weakness.

You dwell on the past instead of looking to the future.

If you find yourself blaming others and feeling like a victim—ask an important question:

What am I going to do about it?

This shifts the focus from blaming others to taking personal responsibility for your life.