Stop the Blame Game, Y'all

I have been amazed at the public backlash against Paula Deen, Y'ALL.  In case Y'ALL have been hiding under a rock this week and missed the story, Paula admitted this week that she has Type 2 Diabetes and that she has known of her diagnosis for several years.  I have heard her called a hypocrite, heard her maligned for the type of cooking she does, and even heard implications that she is in part to blame for the blight of obesity that grips our nation.  I ain’t kiddin’, Y'ALL.  

Let me state unequivocally that I understand the difficulty those who suffer from diabetes endure on a daily basis.  Almost 5 years ago, I received my own Type 2 Diabetes diagnosis.  My dad was and my mom is diabetic.  My father-in-law is diabetic. I have many friends who are diabetic.  I have one very brave teenage friend who tenaciously battles Type 1 Diabetes everyday while living what to the uninformed observer appears to be a normal lifestyle.  She fights the fight so well, that she makes it look easy, and I know it is far from it.  So, Y'ALL, I know that diabetes it bad news.

My point today, Y’ALL, is that in our culture we have lost the ability to take personal responsibility for our actions.  My friend didn’t ask for Type 1 Diabetes, but she takes responsibility for her health and doesn’t blame someone else for her condition.  In my case, I can blame genetics in part, but I also have to recognize that my eating habits ensured what genetics predicted.  Now that I know I have diabetes, I don’t expect Paula Deen to stop cooking like she does, I just choose not to eat her stuff, or at least not often.

Y’ALL, the Paula Deen case is just one more example of our fallen nature’s attempts to blame someone else for our troubles.  This trend is as old as creation: it started in the Garden of Eden.  God busted Adam and Eve, Adam blamed her, and she blamed the serpent.  The harsh reality, though, was they owned their sin – they CHOSE it.  We have made an art form out of what Adam and Eve first practiced in the Garden.

True healing – physical and spiritual – can only take place when we take ownership of our trouble and seek a path that leads to restoration.  For our physical woes, that means we listen to our health care professionals who tell us what and how we should eat and live.  On our jobs, we will never improve, grow, and succeed as long as we blame our failures on those around us while refusing to take the responsibility to lead, inspire, and set the example for them. For our spiritual woes, we must admit our sins and bring them to the only One whose blood has already provided the true healing we do desperately need.  We will not see victory over our sins until we quit making excuses and rationalizations for them, and be honest enough to identify them and own our responsibility for them.

So, what are Y’ALL waiting for?  It’s not Paula’s fault or anybody else’s. It’s MY fault . . . and Y'ALL'S.  The sooner we admit that, the sooner the healing begins.

Bible Verses for Meditation:

Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else,  for each one should carry their own load. – Ephesians 6:4-5

So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. – Romans 14:12

 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