The blame game is nothing new and we can all come up with countless excuses to explain away our choices. Even when these are valid excuses, there comes a time in which we must own the choices we make.
If we made a bad grade in school we might blame the teacher, the textbook, or the distractions from our classmates. And all these concerns might need to be addressed. But in the end we must own the grade we made and exercise our responsibility to improve it.
And this holds for the rest of life as well.
It’s easy to blame our parents, our boss, or the government for the conditions of our life. And some of this blame might rightly belong on their shoulders.
At the same time, we must own the choices we make in our life.
For instance, as adults we can no longer hide behind the wishes of our parents to explain the careers we pursue, the lifestyle we lead, or the values we hold. These are all choices we make.
Of course our parents leave a lasting influence on us, but we remain responsible for the choices of our life.
This is also true at work and in the rule of government. While there is much outside of our control, we must still take ownership for the choices we make.
What is mine here to own and steward toward God’s best?
We abdicate the freedom God has given us when we defer our responsibility to others.
To be sure, it’s risky to put ourselves out there and stand by the choices we’ve made. But to blame and hide behind others robs us of our freedom and ability to impact the world for good.
Own your choices and let come what may.
Photo by Nqobile Vundla on Unsplash
