We know that joking phrase, “The Devil Made Me Do It.” We laugh it off, understanding what it really means. It’s a way of shifting blame, in a humorous way, of course, so that we can recognize our shortcomings yet not take on the responsibility to correct them.
Pay attention to the words “our shortcomings,” because that’s where we need to look today.
James 2:1-26 talks about how we view other people. This passage also serves as a mirror, for even as we view others, they are also looking back at us.
In an earlier verse James 1:13 says:
“Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.”
When life happens to us, God is not getting in our way. He’s not slamming doors in our faces. He’s not tripping us up so that we fall down and skin our knees.
In an even earlier verse James 1:5 directs us:
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”
James wants us to know that we do not have a full understanding of the world around us or of the God who created us. We can ask God for direction, for understanding, and for clarification, but by all means, we must accept that everything that comes our way is not God’s fault.
So, then, what is our life all about? How are we to find our purpose in the will of God? If God is not knocking over every domino on the trail that we walk, then what is our point in life?
We can find our answer in Matthew 5:16, where we are instructed:
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Our walk with God isn’t about him flipping every card in the deck so that we come up roses every time, and it’s not about us pointing our fingers at him when things don’t go our way.
Sometimes the monkey is on our back. The choices we make are ours. We have to look around us and choose to be God’s shining example in spite of what the world throws at us.
It’s not God’s fault when our lives are not perfect. In that same way, it becomes our fault if we choose not to show him to the world in spite of it.
When God shines through the filth the world smears over us, then we are a true beacon leading others unto him.
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