September 9, 2008
The Chimp’s Birthday Card

READ: Genesis 3:1-13
The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.�?—Genesis 3:12Not long ago my wife asked me to pick up a belated birthday card for her brother. Scanning the rack, I ran across a card with a chimpanzee on the front holding a phone receiver in his hand.

This is what it said: “I better not hear . . . about how upset you are that I missed your birthday. I mean, how do you know I wasn’t in a serious car accident and lying in some ditch out in the middle of nowhere? . . . Well, I may have forgotten your birthday, but I didn’t exactly get any phone calls to see if I was okay. All I know is you better have a good excuse why I didn’t hear from you on your birthday!�?/P>

The extent to which people avoid legitimate responsibility is almost laughable, but it is nothing new. When God confronted Adam for eating the forbidden fruit, he chose to blame his wife and God: “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate�?(Gen. 3:12).

When we have done something wrong, we can either accept legitimate blame for what we have done or shift the blame to others. The way that pleases God and results in spiritual growth is to accept personal responsibility for our actions. Irrationally blaming others is no laughing matter.  �?Dennis Fisher

His eye our secret thoughts behold,
His mercies all our lives enfold,
He knows our purposes untold,
You cannot hide from God! —Ackley

A good test of a person’s character is his behavior when he is wrong.