No one likes to be wrong; if you happen to catch a kid in the act, even if they are red-handed, they’ll deny it. Even adults struggle to apologize, because it’s an admission of guilt. It takes a semblance of humility to recognize that you have done something out of line with a noble character. I have personally stewed for more than a few days, unwilling to correct behaviors or admit fault.
A strange thing has happened in the last half century; no one is responsible for anything they do. Regardless of the crime or misstep, we as a society refuse to accept blame or assign guilt. A very public trial is unfolding right now where the individual has admitted guilt, yet they are still being defended for their heinous actions. We diffuse responsibility and culpability. I repeatedly hear the phrase, “the system has failed them.”
In today’s society, you can trace all your actions back to a faulty “system.” Perhaps some grew up in a poor neighborhood, and their morality had to take a back seat so they could survive; or maybe they grew up too wealthy, and no one taught them to take full responsibility for their actions; we can always blame our bad behaviors on those around us. For others, they were abused when they were a child, so they learned harmful habits from those around them. Still, others had laissez-faire parents who never set boundaries, allowing misbehaviors and misdeeds to continue.
As Christians, we should recognize that the Bible never makes this distinction. Pharaoh couldn’t claim the system failed him as he killed the Egyptian boys (Exodus 1 & 3). The Canaanites couldn’t blame their cultural surroundings when their sin had reached its full measure (Genesis 15:16). Paul could have continued to persecute Christians because that was all he ever knew. Everyone is accountable for their life, for the things they have done…. “For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.” (Colossians 3:25). That’s biblical.
This might hurt our sensitive ears, but this is the reality of what we are told: we all have to give an account someday. I would much rather admit fault now, repent, and commit my life to Jesus than to imagine that I have never sinned. The Apostle John writes to Christians, and he makes this very case.
1 John 1:8-10– “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”
Here’s the heart of the matter…we are either sinners, or God is a liar. Our society has chosen to claim they are not accountable for their actions; they are either born that way or have been formed that way through environmental factors… but they aren’t ever guilty. They will never admit that they have made choices that are against God’s will. However, there is hope; just a few paragraphs later, John encourages all of us.
1 John 3:1-7- 1 “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. 4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.”
Yes, I am a sinner; I am guilty of all the ways that I violate God’s character. But God, who is rich in mercy, calls me His child when I trust in Him and abide in Him. I don’t live in my sins; Jesus came to take those away, but I must first admit that I need a savior. I can either admit nothing and hope in my own abilities, or I can admit that I am guilty and place my hope in the One who secures me. We can either admit guilt or admit hope.