The Revd Alastair McCollum. Picture by Terry Ife ref mhv 8783-09-11TI

Own up to wrong-doing

Rev Alastair McCollum, Rural Dean Tuesday, October 2, 2012
8:59 AM

Don’t try to shift the blame.

A recent study has concluded that hardly anyone is tone deaf – most awful singers are just that, awful at singing. The phrase ‘tone deaf’ is usually an excuse for not being very good at something.

We seem to live in a world where we make excuses. It’s not new. The creation story at the beginning of the Bible says that shifting the blame came early, when God asks “Why did you eat the forbidden fruit?” and the man’s response is “It was the woman’s fault”.

Christian faith reminds us, uncomfortably, that we are responsible for our own wrongdoing. The Bible says: “All have done wrong (sinned) and fall short of God’s glory.” But, rather than shifting the blame, we believe God, through Jesus, offers us forgiveness when we confess our wrongdoing and seek to live God’s way.

Own up, let go, move on. God forgives you, forgive yourself, forgive others.