It wasn’t me. It wasn’t my fault…
I suppose one could conclude that passing the blame is part of our sinful nature. After all, when confronted by God in the garden, Adam pointed his finger at Eve, and Eve pointed her finger at the snake.
“And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. …And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.” Genesis 3:12-13 KJV
But as my father-in-law used to say, when you point your finger at someone else, there are three pointing back at yourself.
As I read Daniel’s prayer in chapter nine last week, I was taken aback by Daniel’s genuine humility. Here is a man who diligently prayed and remained faithful to God no matter the consequences. Yet, as he prayed, confessing the sins of Israel and asking for God’s mercy on them, he used the word, ‘we.’ He did not point the finger. Instead, Daniel included himself in confessing the sin of Israel, even though he had remained faithful to his Creator. Why?
Romans 3:23 reminds us that “…all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (KJV).
I think Daniel knew that even though he had not taken part in the disobedience that had brought on God’s wrath, he was still not deserving of God’s mercy. Therefore, he did not point fingers and cast blame, but he came to God with humility seeking the grace that none of us deserve, but we all need.
Let us follow Daniel’s example, not casting blame or passing judgment, but rather humbly bowing in prayer to our Father who loves us enough to extend mercy that we do not deserve.
