“Don’t try to disclaim responsibility.” Pr 24:11 TLB

Take Responsibility
A woman went shopping one day and came home with a very expensive dress. Her budget-conscious husband was very upset and demanded to know what on earth possessed her. “The Devil made me do it,” she replied sweetly. He asked, “Well, why didn’t you say, ‘Get thee behind me, Satan’?” “I did,” she replied. “But he said it looked great from the back as well—so I had to buy it!” Satan is an expert at distorting the truth by getting us to blame circumstances and other people for our mistakes; that way we never have to take responsibility. But as Albert Ellis observed: “The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You don’t blame them on your mother, the ecology, or the president. You realize you control your own destiny.” Florence Nightingale, hero-nurse of the Crimean War, said, “I attribute my success to one thing: I never gave or took an excuse.” When a winner messes up, they admit they were wrong and ask for forgiveness. When a loser makes a mistake, they immediately look for somebody or something to blame. The Bible says, “Don’t try to disclaim responsibility by saying you didn’t know…God…knows you knew! And he will reward…according to [your] deeds.” David constantly prayed about his shortcomings, and his honesty helped make him “a man after [God’s] own heart” (1Sa 13:14). Instead of denying and defending your mistakes, take responsibility, learn from them, and move on. That’s how you grow! (bob gass)