11月26日
标 题：负责任
经 节：那人说：“祢所赐给我、与我同居的女人，她把那树上的果子给我，我就吃了。”（创世记三章12节）
亚当和夏娃尽其所能地推脱责任。亚当责怪妻子：“是她给我那棵树上的果子。”他甚至把责难的指头伸向神，说：“是祢赐给我的那个女人。”夏娃把责任推到蛇的身上，她说：“那蛇引诱我，我就吃了。”神不理他们的借口，宣判了他们悖逆的罪行。
人类的悲歌之一，是拒绝为自己的行动负责。我们把自己的问题怪到别人头上：父母没有管教我们、朋友拖累我们、牧师讲道不清楚、儿女太叛逆、雇主不够敏锐、配偶不了解我们、时间不够用……，我们的借口很多！然而，除非完全负起当尽的责任，否则饶恕与重建是不可能发生的事。
我们为自己的罪行找借口，正证明我们没有真诚地悔改。圣经中从未提到，因着别人对你的影响，神原谅了我们的罪行。若习于为自己的所作所为找借口，我们将不会诚实地悔改。神会要我们为自己的行为负责任，而不要他人为我们的行为负责任（哥林多后书五：10）。总要竭诚认罪悔改，并为自己的罪负责任，这会释放你，使你得到神的饶恕，朝向灵命成熟迈进。
Taking Responsibility
Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” (Genesis 3:12)
Adam and Eve did everything they could to avoid taking responsibility for their sin. Adam blamed his wife: “She gave me of the tree.” He even pointed an accusing finger at God, saying it was “the woman, whom You gave me.” Eve blamed the serpent saying: “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” God ignored their excuses and announced the judgment they would face as consequences for their disobedience.
One of the dirges of mankind is that we refuse to take responsibility for our actions. We want to blame others for our problems: Our parents did not raise us well; our friends let us down; our pastor was not a good enough preacher; our children are rebellious; our employer is not sensitive enough; our spouse is not understanding; there is not enough time in the day . . . the excuses are plentiful! Yet forgiveness and restoration cannot happen until we accept full responsibility for our actions. An obvious indication that we have not genuinely repented is that we make excuses for our sinful behavior. Nowhere in Scripture does God excuse one person’s sin because of someone else’s actions. If we make a habit of blaming others for our failures, we will not reach a point of honest repentance. God will hold us accountable for our own actions, not others (2 Cor. 5:10). Strive always to acknowledge and take responsibility for your own sins. It will free you to receive God’s forgiveness and to press on to spiritual maturity.
