When I think of blameless the words impossible, out of reach and unrealistic come to mind. Placing the blame on something, someone or our circumstances seem to be a knee-jerk reaction derived from the fall. You know the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3. In the garden, the serpent first tempts Eve and she eats the forbidden fruit and offers some to Adam, who then partakes of it. When God finds them hiding in the bushes and calls them out, He asks them to explain. It’s a setup. God is all-knowing, of course, He already knew what had happened. But, He wanted them to fess up. The problem was that instead of confessing to what they did, Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent. They sinned and didn’t know how to recover. Been there, and done that.
Here is the dilemma with blame- you must direct it towards something or someone in order to satisfy its purpose. And naturally, we either place it on others or on ourselves. Oftentimes, we choose the latter being the most debilitating of the two. But blame does not bring about resolution nor healing. We place blame so as to hide in the bushes of our bad decisions- as a self-preservation mechanism. We do not want to be sought out, found out, or called out. We do not want to be known because it would open us up to endless opportunities to be let down and hurt. Blame is real, possible and within reach.
This is why I struggle so much with learning to walk blamelessly. Oftentimes, I blame myself for everything that goes wrong in my life. I blame myself for glazed over friendships, for overworking myself, for falling short time and time again. It’s just so easy to blame myself for not being able to perform at others expectations. I blame others for things that happened in my life that I am so deeply ashamed of. And I blame others for not meeting my high expectations. So, I hide behind the smile, the reputation, the title, the status, the busy-ness. I hide so that the brokenness deep down inside would not be revealed. The brokenness that I attribute as weakness.
But, God.
He knows it all and loves us still. And just as God called out Adam and Eve from the bushes, He calls us out from hiding. He calls us out, not to blame us, like the accuser. No. He calls us out to pull us into a deeper relationship with Him. Just as a surgeon must cut cancer out of a body in order to save it, Jesus cuts out the sin that will slowly eat away at us until death. The calling out process is so painful, excruciating. But it is for our own good. Our brokenness only reveals the deeper need for a mender. Our frailties reveal the need for His perfect strength. He is the only one that can remove the blame, heal us, strengthen us, save us and secure our steps so that we won’t slip into hiding again. God is He who makes our way blameless. Be encouraged that you don't have to live in yours or others blame no more.
Psalm 18
31For who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?—
32 the God who equipped me with strength
and made my way blameless.
33 He made my feet like the feet of a deer
and set me secure on the heights.
34 He trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your right hand supported me,
and your gentleness made me great.
36 You gave a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet did not slip.
-Mayra