Your Problems Are Your Fault (Parashat Bereshit)
From the very beginning, human beings have been quick to blame others rather than take responsibility for their own wrongdoing. In this week’s Torah portion, Bereshit, we see how Adam and Eve’s response to their sin reveals a tendency that continues to plague humanity today. As followers of Yeshua, we are called to break this cycle of blame-shifting through humility, repentance, and personal responsibility.
There is a funny meme that has circulated online featuring an Indiana Jones-like adventurer searching for the legendary “Scroll of Truth.” This magical scroll reveals the absolute truth of the universe.
After a long and difficult journey, the adventurer finally discovers the scroll. He eagerly opens it, hoping to uncover some profound secret about the nature of reality. But the scroll simply reads, “Some of your problems are your own fault.”
Outraged, the adventurer immediately throws the scroll away.
The Scroll of Truth — Original comic by Tate Parker (Robotatertot); text modified in this meme version.
The comic is funny because it illustrates something true about human nature: we don’t like being told that we’re responsible for our problems. As human beings, we naturally want to think highly of ourselves. We want to believe that we’re good people who make good decisions. And when things go wrong, we often look for someone or something else to blame.
Interestingly, this tendency goes all the way back to the beginning of human history. In fact, we see it in this week’s Torah portion, Bereshit (Genesis 1:1–6:8).
The Blame Game in the Garden
In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. When God confronted them about their disobedience, notice how they responded:
The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (Genesis 3:12–13)
As we can see, neither Adam nor Eve initially took responsibility for their actions. Instead, they immediately pointed the finger at someone else. Adam blamed “the woman whom you gave me” (perhaps even implying that God himself was partly to blame!), and Eve blamed the serpent.
So from the very beginning, human beings have attempted to escape responsibility for their wrongdoing by shifting the blame elsewhere. Thousands of years later, not much has changed. We see this tendency everywhere in our culture today. When people make bad decisions, they often refuse to acknowledge their own responsibility. Instead, they point to other people, their circumstances, or some external factor that supposedly explains why they did what they did.
Now, you might be thinking, “Well, I don't blame other people for my problems!” And perhaps that’s true. Many of us know better than to openly blame someone else for our mistakes. But even when we don’t blame another person, we can still find ways to excuse our behavior by blaming our circumstances.
For example, have you ever said something like, “Well, I wouldn't have done that if such-and-such hadn’t happened”? Maybe someone treated you unfairly. Maybe something happened that was completely outside your control. But even when you aren’t responsible for the circumstances you find yourself in, you are still responsible for how you respond to those circumstances.
As an extreme example, suppose you lose your job because your boss is cruel and incompetent. You did nothing wrong, and now your family is facing serious financial difficulties. Understandably, you’re frustrated and desperate. But suppose you then decide to rob a bank. Do you think the judge is going to excuse your crime because you were unjustly fired the week before? Obviously not. Your circumstances might help explain why you made that decision, but they don’t justify it.
The same principle applies to our everyday lives. Someone might genuinely mistreat us. We might experience disappointment or suffering through no fault of our own. But that does not give us permission to respond sinfully. Regardless of what happens to us, we are still responsible for our own choices. When we sin, we need to own it.
Following Messiah Means Taking Responsibility
We are called to reject this pattern of blame-shifting that began in the Garden. After all, following Messiah requires repentance, and repentance requires acknowledging that we have sinned. We cannot truly repent while insisting that our wrongdoing is ultimately someone else’s fault. Coming to Messiah means admitting that we have failed to live according to God’s ways and that we need his mercy and forgiveness. In other words, our walk with Messiah begins with the very thing Adam and Eve were reluctant to do in the Garden: taking responsibility for our sin.
And this attitude of humility shouldn’t disappear after we first come to faith. As the apostle John writes, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8–9). Notice that John calls us to confess our sins, not make excuses for them.
The good news is that we don’t have to pretend we’re perfect. We don’t have to defend every bad decision or come up with elaborate justifications for our mistakes. We can simply acknowledge our wrongdoing, turn to God in repentance, and receive his forgiveness. May we maintain this spirit of humility throughout our walk with Messiah. May we always be quick to confess our sins, take responsibility, and seek God’s mercy.
About David Wilber
David Wilber is an author, Bible teacher, and CEO of Pronomian Publishing LLC. He has written several books and numerous theological articles, with his work appearing in outlets such as the Christian Post and the Journal of Biblical Theology. David has spoken at churches and conferences across the nation and has served as a researcher and Bible teacher for a number of Messianic and Christian ministries…
From the very beginning, human beings have been quick to blame others rather than take responsibility for their own wrongdoing. In this week’s Torah portion, Bereshit, we see how Adam and Eve’s response to their sin reveals a tendency that continues to plague humanity today. As followers of Yeshua, we are called to break this cycle of blame-shifting through humility, repentance, and personal responsibility.