People have always been skilled at passing the buck. It began in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. When they ate from the tree which they were told not to eat. Adam blamed God and Eve (Genesis 3:12-“The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”). Eve blamed the serpent (Genesis 3:13–The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”) And so, down through history, people have been blaming others for their problems or actions.
Why does it seem so difficult to take responsibility? I know that not everybody passes on responsibility, however, it seems that so many people do. I know people who may think their manager or boss is hard-nosed and a stickler for details. That is because it their job to be sure things are done right, they are responsible for the actions of those work for them. Many college athletic head coaches find themselves in hot water because they did not monitor their assistants or ignored actions that were against the rules, especially in recruiting.
In the political arena, a new administration will often blame the prior administration for issues that the new administration faces even if it wasn’t the fault of the prior administration. It just goes on and on.
Today, we look at our society and lament the condition that it is in. Wickedness and evil are so prevalent, and we often wonder how we got this far off course as a country in less than 300 years. The United States of America was founded on godly values and morals. God blessed this country immensely as it grew and became a world power as relative teen-ager compared to other countries around the world. Morals and values were taught and often enforced by public shaming. People today look at that as cruel and unusual punishment, however, if you want to keep something pure, you need get rid of that which contaminates it. In the Old Testament, God had the tribes of Israel exile or even execute trouble makers in order to keep the nation pure and loyal to God.
So, who is responsible for the mess our society is in? First, individuals are responsible for their own actions, so there is that. But let’s set that aside for a minute. People can only know what they learn or what they are taught. Many people act unrighteous because they have never been taught the way of righteousness. Paul says in Romans 10:13– “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” But then he goes on in Romans 10:14–14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? I believe that this reveals who is responsible for keeping our society on the path of righteousness. Christians!
Friends, how can we expect people to know and be obedient to God if they have never heard of or seen the love of God? How can we expect people to be cherish the word if they don’t know the word? We cannot forget what Jesus said to His disciples right before He ascended into heaven: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).
We are not merely called to praise and worship God sitting in a building on Sunday. In reality, that is for our edification. We are called to praise and worship God by going into the world and serving and teaching. We are called to praise and worship God by offering our bodies as living sacrifice pleasing to Him (Romans 12:1).
We may blame Satan for the condition of society, however, God has conquered Satan and if we fail to reveal the power of God and His victory to the world, I guess we are responsible.
Read Ezekiel 33:7-9