brethren,
i hope this writing encourages you.
i will start with some scripture.
Gen 3
Now the serpent was more crafty than any wild animal which Adonai, God, had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, ‘You are not to eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman answered the serpent, "We may eat from the fruit of the trees of the garden, 3 but about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, ‘You are neither to eat from it nor touch it, or you will die.’” 4 The serpent said to the woman, "It is not true that you will surely die; 5 because God knows that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it had a pleasing appearance and that the tree was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her; and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together to make themselves loincloths. They heard the voice of Adonai, God, walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, so the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Adonai, God, among the trees in the garden. 9 Adonai, God, called to the man, "Where are you?” 10 He answered, "I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself.” 11 He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I ordered you not to eat?” 12 The man replied, "The woman you gave to be with me ”” she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.” 13 Adonai, God, said to the woman, "What is this you have done?” The woman answered, "The serpent tricked me, so I ate.”
another passage
Gen 4
So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. 4 Abel, on his part also brought of the first-lings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering; 5 but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. 6 Then the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” 8 Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. 9 Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, "I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”
some of you may have heard this saying, 'its always someone else's fault.' maybe you haven't, but its one of my favorite phrases. whether its an disagreement on scriptural issues, or views on movies. one of the two parties or both parties will always think their right in what they think, say, and interpretation of the bible. sometimes slander and name calling is a result. some tend to impose or force views on others. but in the end, as mentioned before, one of the parties will think it is the other person's fault.
(this is a side note, or more like a rabbit trail.but maybe its the example im trying to talk about)
its always been interesting to see the featured sermons like, whose touching the ark? or the one a few weeks ago (i cant remember the name or the pastor, but its along the lines of Ravenhills present sermon.) then the sermon, blessedness of the unoffended. yet, within the atmosphere of those sermons, the forums tended not to reflect the richness of those sermons. people were offended, and then sometimes i seen that people missed the point of the sermons completely, or else maybe i have missed the point. because simply put, those sermons are about the will of the Sovereign God and what we do has pretty much no impact on the Triunes Will.(not to neglect our role)but at the end of time the Lord will have the final say and we will be accountable to whether or not we were obedient or not. (i am aware of the cal vs arm, debates, but the bible teaches both) this is where the art of deflection has become art perfected. people would rather defend their views, their theology, etc. to a point that the moderator's would have to shut down the talks, or slander and name calling which in the end brings shame to our testimony and the brethren. yet, in the end, each party will walk away justified blaming the other party. i praise God and i feel so encouraged when brothers and sisters come to confess they were wrong because they have come to where as believers we can be stronger witness. to be quick to confess our sins instead of blaming others.
look at the scriptures shown, each are perfect examples of deflection, and it is ingrained in us so much that we have become blind to it. adam blames eve, and yes, we all know that adam should have said something, but adam didnt, he deflected his responsibility as the 'man' and put the blame on his wife. then eve deflected her choice and blamed the serpent. but it is also necessary to point out that eve not only blamed the serpent, but she added something of her own, she added 'touch it'. sometimes as descendants from adam and eve, we tend to throw a little something extra in our debates, whether its another teaching or another point, but it may sometimes be unrelated. this is something that happens in our modern 'talks' too, sometimes the forums to be more specific.
then look at cain, when God asked where Abel was, he deflected his actions with the question 'am i my brothers keeper?' the answer is obviously, yes. why? we intercede for our brothers/sisters, encourage, rebuke, love, etc. but instead, there was deflection.
if the goal and challenge is to walk as our Lord did, then i think we need to realize that Christ didnt deflect. like sure, He didnt want to drink the cup, but He did. Jesus also showed that he didnt one up each other.
i dont mean to sound like i have this perfected, but, this applies to me just as much as everyone else, its part of self-denial, isnt it? or, will it always be someone else's fault?