Daily Manna

Key Verse

“And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat” (Genesis 3:12).

TEXT — Genesis 3:1-13

Message

On the desk of President Harry Truman of the United States between the mid-1940s and early 1950s was a painted glass sign with the inscription, “The Buck Stops Here.” He adopted it as a motto to guide him take responsibility for decisions without shifting the blame for the consequences. Later, in his farewell address to the American people in January 1953, Truman said that when a leader had the responsibility to own up to a wrongdoing, “He can’t pass the buck to anybody. No one else can do the deciding for him. That’s his job.”

Adam and his wife failed this defining candour test and were exposed for breaking God’s law. People lose their essence and personality when they try to disconnect themselves from the unpleasant effects of their deeds. Not admitting to the works of your own hands when they go awry reveals you as a person of low character unfit to be trusted. God punished Adam and Eve for ‘passing the buck’ and trying to put the blame on Him for their sin.

We cause lasting disastrous harm when we attempt to run away from the outcome of decisions we take out of our own volition. First, those around such characters would be hesitant to enter into any relationships with them, fearing they might throw their partners under the bus over freely taken resolutions. Also, it denies pardon from a God who desires sincere confession of sin as a condition for forgiveness.

Refusing to acknowledge our shortcomings when confronted with reality aggravates the situation as it did with Adam and Eve. But we can avoid further peril if we ask the Lord for power to overcome iniquity in the first place, so that we do not fall into the easy temptation of passing the buck after the deed.

Thought for the day

Search not for a fault elsewhere when it is with you.

• Bible
• in one year
• JUDGES 8-10 (Read By Alexander Scourby)