If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”-John 8:31-32

Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.-Romans 2:1

If someone is caught in any transgression you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.”-Galatians 6:1

For by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned. Matthew 12:37

 

Truth

I need to tell you from the start
It’s a trip you need to take.
I think you know the time has come
For amends, you need to make.
It probably won’t bring your joy;
But then joy is overrated,
Claim those who found redemption
And the peace that it created.
You take no responsibility.
Say who’s at fault is not in question.
You refuse to even take your part
Won’t make even that concession.
However, fault, unlike kindness,
Isn’t scarce or hard to find.
It always lies with someone else,
There’s no question in our mind.
I think that you’re convinced,
That you’re searching for the truth
Certainly a noble cause,
But perhaps a fool’s pursuit.
Because you must prepare yourself,
While considering this question,
To come upon truth’s cornerstone,
An epiphanous life lesson.
You see, man has no objective truth,
It’s a story we create.
That never has belonged to us
Nor, been ours to appropriate.
The truth, at least for most of us,
Is an inspiration story.
A narrative to control our fear,
Part myth, part allegory.
So, unless we look to God for truth,
When we search for clarity,
What we find won’t be agreement
Only more disparity.
For man’s truth cannot be singular,
Because there’s yours and mine and ours.
Only God’s truth is immutable
And as constant as His stars.
©Linda Troxell 07/25/2017

Not too long ago there was a picture that went viral on Facebook. It was a picture of a blue and white striped dress. The copy beneath the picture asked readers what color the stripes were. Were they black or were they blue? As I sat alone looking at the dress with blue stripes I was confused. Clearly, the stripes were blue. But when I brought it up with friends I was amazed to find that many of them saw the same stripes as black. Perhaps you have had a similar experience, say a disagreement with a friend when you think someone is blonde and your friend thinks she has brown hair. Or maybe you’ve been amazed that your friend thinks a certain celebrity is exceptionally handsome because you think he is only average.

So, what is the truth in these situations? The truth is that it is all true. One set of facts is your truth and the other set of facts is your friend’s truth. There really is no objective truth in these matters because they are matters of perception. Perceptions differ for many reasons, some of them are physical, some of them learned. For example, my eyes pick up the refraction of light differently than yours so we perceive different colors in the same item. Or, maybe I learned growing up that only hair that is practically white is called blonde and you grew up learning that anything that is not at least chestnut is blonde. In that case, we will perceive hair colors differently.

However, make no mistake, that does not mean, as so many would like to believe, that all truth is a matter of perception. There are some truths that are unquestionable. For Christians, those things are in the Bible, they are the words of God. Jesus said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”-John 8:31-32. So, as Christians, when we want to know the truth of something we can look to see what the Bible says.

But we, humans, more often than not, seem to think it is important to know who’s at fault whenever things don’t work out the way they were intended to; or even the way we want them to. We know that we can look to the Bible to tell us what is true but where do we look to determine who is at fault? Can the Bible help us to determine the truth of who is at fault in a given situation?

Well, before we look at that, let’s look closer at the word fault and a similar word, responsibility. Sometimes, fault and responsibility are used interchangeably. But while they have similar definitions, they feel and are used very differently. Fault brings to mind blame, while responsible brings to mind being in charge or control. You might compliment someone for their successful responsibility for a situation but you would never compliment them for being at fault. The very word “fault” gives me shivers down my back unless we are discussing earthquakes. Fault is one of those hot button words in human communication that often elicits a visceral emotional reaction. Just the very word, “fault” seems to invoke condemnation, criticism, and blame. And in most constructive situations what we really want to know is not who’s at fault but who is responsible; and that has a much more neutral, less blaming feel.

There are many circumstances in which it is important to know who’s responsible for something. For example, we need to know who’s responsible for a child, to make sure the child’s needs are being met; we need to know who’s responsible for an accident, to determine who will pay for damages; and we need to know who’s responsible for taking the trash out, so that if it doesn’t get taken out, the person responsible can be made aware and reminded to take it out next time. But I can think of no constructive situations where it is important to know who’s at fault.

When we are talking about fault, we are usually looking to point a finger and blame somebody for something; there is nothing constructive in that. That’s why fault isn’t difficult to find, it almost always belongs to someone else, but you can rarely find it in the same vicinity of kindness. And there are only a few reasons that I can think of for knowing who is at fault: to judge someone, as in, “This is all your fault.” to criticize someone, as in, “This is all your fault.”, or to blame someone, as in, “This is all your fault.” None of those are very kind. Nor are they very Christian.

Most, often when the Bible talks of blame, it is not in flattering terms. In Matthew 7:3-5 Jesus is asking why we see the speck in our brother’s eye (blaming), and ignore the plank in our own (responsibility). Romans 2:1 Paul says, “Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things”. And in Galatians, we are told that “if someone is caught in any transgression, you, who are spiritual, should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.”-Galatians 6:1. The first two passages from the Bible are admonishments warning us of the danger of blaming and judging. And the last, speaks not of finding fault or blaming but of kindness in helping someone get back on their right footing. I think, for Christians, fault is not even something we need to consider. What we do need to consider is who is responsible and how we can help that person to see and meet that responsibility.

The Bible is pretty clear in discussing truth, blame and responsibility. It tells us in no uncertain terms that Jesus, who is the word of God, is the truth, the light and the way-John 14:6; it tells us that we have no excuse to judge or blame others: Yet let no one contend, and let none accuse-Hosea 4:4; and it tells us we are responsible for what we do and say: for by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned.-Matthew 12:37. So, the next time you are tempted to look for who is at fault for something, ask yourself whether you are looking for who is at fault or whether you are actually looking for who is responsible. And if you are unsure of the answer to that question, you can clarify it by asking yourself another question. What is the reason I need this information, is it to blame someone or is it to help someone?

Points for Prayer and Pondering

Have you ever been frustrated because your perception of something differed dramatically from someone else’s perception? Write about one time and how you dealt with it. Did you try to talk the other person into seeing it your way? Did you just laugh and let it go? Or something else.

Think back to the last time you had a discussion (argument?) with someone about who was at fault for something. Why was it important for you to determine who was at fault in this situation? If you were able to determine who was at fault, what did you do with the information? If unable to determine fault, what would you have done with the information had you been able to determine fault?

Write a short definition, of your own, for the words fault and responsibility. Then, look each word up in the dictionary and write out the dictionary definition of each word. Compare the two. Was there a large discrepancy between your definitions and the dictionary definitions?

Briefly, in your own words, write what you believe is the difference between fault and responsibility. Then write about why, as a Christian, it is important to understand the difference?