I blamed everybody else: Confession #74

One of my favorite blogs is written by my friend Jeff Goins. He recently wrote about how to make a difference in the world.

He quoted a famous statement from G.K. Chesterton. In an interview Chesterton was asked about what is wrong with the world.

At first the questiom may sound difficult, if not impossible to answer. How do you summarize the cause of all the evil and hurt and poverty and hunger and death in the world in one simple statement?

Your response would largely depend upon your perspective on life. Parents. Democrats. Republicans. Public schools. Pornography. Microsoft. Atheists. Christians..

Chesterton’s answer was simple. He said, “I am.”

That is, I am what is wrong in the world.

As a conservative evangelical I had a long list of the causes of the world’s problems, and regardless of who I put on that list I got it wrong because I did not put me. In fact my list included everyone but me. I blamed everyone else because I presumed that my way of doing life and church was the only way.

I isolated myself from everyone and everything on that list. Thankfully, God did not do the same. He did not leave us to ourselves.

I hid behind my white picket fence.

When I neglected to blame me, I gave myself a hall pass in doing anything about the problems in the world. If the problems were not my fault, then I did not need to solve them. I did not need to care. I did not need to help.

The best part of Chesterton’s answer is not that it correctly identifies the problem, but that it also helps to provide a solution.

I can make things better.

I can help other people.

I can smile today.

I can tell a joke.

I can create something beautiful.

I can encourage.

I can love.

I can show other’s God’s love. I can participate in the redemption of this world as God seeks to make all things new.

Who do you blame for the world’s problems. Tell us how you help make the world a better place here.