The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Genesis 43:9, Judah said to his father, Israel: “I myself will be surety for him; you may hold me responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame before you forever.”

1 Samuel 25:24-25: Abigail “fell at (David’s) feet and said, “On me alone, my lord, be the blame. And please let your maidservant speak to you, and listen to the words of your maidservant.”

Job 1:21b-22: “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD. Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.”

1 Thess. 5:23: – “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Do you remember the silly, foolish rhymes kids used to sing in elementary school? This one was named “Freckles.” It was composed by Harry Edward Nilsson back in
The 1940s and 50s. (This question is exclusively addressed to the seniors on the
Grands List).

One of those rhymes had a tune and went like this:

Freckles was his name;
He used to always get the blame
For every broken window pane
And how they’d yank him
They’d always spank him.

The name of the game was “blame someone else,” of course. Yet, when we are
guilty of doing something for which we could rightly be blamed, we want to shift the
blame onto someone else. Such “shifting,” of course, is a form of lying.

It’s interesting to note, however, that those in biblical times found it better to admit
to a wrong-doing rather than shifting it to someone else. They knew the LORD
knew who was truly to blame; thus, denying it themselves was tantamount to
lying.

When was the last time you were blamed for something you didn’t do? When was
the last time you shifted blame to someone for something you yourself did? The
LORD knows who is to be blamed in every situation. Better that we should admit
to our wrong doing than to shift it to another or seek to cover it up. Not all of the
biblical people in the verses above were guilty of a “cover up”; they simply confessed
it quickly and bore the lesser consequences. Doesn’t that make good sense?

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need
until He becomes all that we have.”
– Corrie ten Boom