Who Takes The Blame? — Morning Devotions

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Transcript

The world was watching on 28th of January 1986 as the Space Shuttle Challenger and its crew blasted off for a unique mission. The idea was one of those on board, history teacher and astronaut Krista McAuliffe, would present lessons for school students and then would be beamed to earth. But it was not to be. 75 seconds after liftoff, tragedy struck with millions watching on screens including schoolchildren in the US.

The shuttle suddenly erupted, disintegrating the cabin along with the entire crew of 7. It really was a shocking event. What had gone wrong? That was the pressing question everyone was asking.

The teams of researchers examined the wreckage and soon the specific cause was found. The problem was with the O rings, two circular rubber seals which had been designed to fit snugly into the joints of the booster engine sections, and the O-rings were defective and the mechanical failure led to this tragedy, but that wasn’t all. The truth eventually came out and the New York Times put it rather bluntly, the cause was pride. A group of top managers failed to listen carefully to the warnings and the advice and the criticism given by those in the junior ranks who were concerned about certain parts of the booster engine.

It’s a serious omission resulting in the unnecessary death of 7 people. Thinking of this event made me turn my attention to the phrase we use sometime, passing the buck or evading our responsibility. Have you been guilty, as I have, of ignoring a situation because you didn’t want to take responsibility? Who takes the blame?

Passing the buck

Responsibility. That’s a word we hear a lot. We take on more responsibilities as we go through life. Responsibility for paying the rent, car payments, mortgage, deadlines, getting the job done. These things can be quite daunting, but we need to take responsibility for ourselves and the way we live. The Bible has something interesting to say in Galatians 6:5 in the New Testament and it says this: We are each responsible for our own conduct.

And I guess it’s easy to say I messed up my life. I’ve made some terrible mistakes, but that is the past. It doesn’t define who you are now. The Bible story of the lost or the prodigal son is a classic example in Luke’s Gospel. A younger son decided it was time to take his share of the inheritance from his father before he died. His dad agreed and divided his wealth between the two sons, and one wasted all his money, but a famine almost wiped him out. He was starving. Finally he came to his senses. He realised his big mistake and returned home after begging his father to take him on as a hired servant. Fortunately, he had a wise and forgiving father who forgave him.

He learned a big lesson that day. His life was saved, and it is a remarkable story. He finally came to his senses, and I think many of us have had to ask serious questions where you look at yourself and wonder, how did I end up like this? How did I lose my job? How did I lose the money? How did I end up in this kind of marriage? I did make a silly decision, then things go wrong.

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We have the opportunity to see things differently. We can recognise that the pursuit of our own will has left us empty and desperate and perhaps damaged, and we perhaps damaged the people that we love the most. But in that moment of reflection, we’ve got a chance to make things right.

But in that moment of reflection, we’ve got a chance to make things right.

We can turn away from our sin and turn back to God, and that’s what the son in the story did. He knew the true source of love and life. He knew it failed dismally, but in that moment he came to his senses. One preacher has said, Your past may exploit you, but it does not excuse you. Don’t let where you’ve been keep you from where you’re going. We have to stop, think, and take ownership of our lives, trusting that God has a plan for our future. It’s difficult to relinquish control and admit we don’t know what’s best.

But to make everything right, we do need to own this. We need to backtrack, own the failure, and make our way back to where we should have been all along. Wherever you are at your life right now, God is standing there, not far away. His arms are outstretched. He’s the Father in this parable that I mention, ready to offer His love and mercy for your failure, ready to restore you as His child and to cover you with His blessings. God can take control of your life right now.

Let’s Pray

Heavenly Father, sometimes we blame other people or circumstances for where we are, but in reality, Lord, we have to take account for ourselves, our own thinking, and our own actions. Help us to be our best self, Lord, as we surrender our lives. Give us a fresh start. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

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