Photo by Evan Dennis on Unsplash
By Mike Chaffin
13 Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.” Genesis 3:13
What have you done? A question every parent has asked their child at one time or another. The comic strip Family Circus has a recurring comic on the topic. A lamp is broken, the mother comes in and asks, “who did this?” The children reply, “not me!”
In Eve’s case her reply was “the serpent deceived me.” Or, in modern vernacular as the comedian Flip Wilson’s character, Geraldine Jones, would have replied, “The Devil made me do it.”
Deny, deflect, or pass the blame seems to be our go to when asked this question.
God directed this question to Eve after Adam passed the buck on who instigated the first sin. Eve deflected the blame by claiming her sin was caused by a deceptive lie of the devil. Both were guilty of sin and no amount of denial or redirection could change the outcome.
The Bible instructs by telling us what to do, and not to do, and by showing us how others failed or succeeded in their walk with God. Two examples stand out, this one in the garden, and David’s sinfulness in the Bathsheba episode. God knows when we sin. If we are His and don’t repent, He will in one way, or another ask us this question.
If we deflect the blame of our sin like Eve, we hurt ourselves and our relationship with God. The devil can tempt us to sin, but he can never make us sin. He can deceive us if we don’t know God’s Word and through the lack of knowledge fall into sin. However, if we have the Holy Spirit living in us we know when we are doing wrong, and know to go to the Lord in prayer. Passing the buck shows us to be an untrustworthy servant deserving of God’s judgement.
King David handled his admission of sin differently when his failings were presented to him by Nathan, the prophet of God. Nathan confronted David about his sin with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband. David didn’t blame Bathsheba for being naked on the rooftop, he acknowledged his sin and owned the consequences.
13 So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 2 Samuel 12:13
But sin has consequences and David was no exception. Furthermore, David repented of his sin rather than pass the blame and penned Psalm 51, a prayer of repentance.
Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgressions,
And my sin is always before me.
4 Against You, You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil in Your sight—
That You may be found just when You speak,
And blameless when You judge.
The psalm goes into greater repentance. You can read the entire psalm by clicking the link above.
David was forgiven and he was called a man after God’s own heart. God granted him great victories and in his lineage is Christ the King.
CONTEMPLATION – When asked this question the best response to accept responsibility for the sin committed and don’t deny, deflect or pass the buck. Consequences of sin are sometimes unavoidable, but forgiveness is the main priority in restoring relationships with God and with others.
Evil people are trapped by sin, but the righteous escape, shouting for joy. Proverbs 29:6
