There is a natural tendency in today's society to blame a figurehead for things that go wrong. In the U.S. that person is the president. Bush has gotten a bad rap from people who might blame him for the deaths of american soldiers in Iraq as well as other places in the world. They might say that if he was half a man he would bring our troops home. That if he had a real love for the american people he would stop this war.

The problem with this way of thinking is that it is very flawed. Nobody can really know the presidents' mind or why these things are happening in Iraq and other places. It is just so easy to judge these top people because the blame has to go somewhere. You never hear about blaming the senate or the house of representatives or some other branch of government. Because these people are faceless in our minds.

Or to put it another way, for those U.S. citizens reading this, do you know the names of the U.S. Senators presently in your state? I am guessing that the large majority of you do not know their names. But because everybody knows the name "Bush" it is so much easier to put the blame on him.

But is it his fault that the troops are still in Iraq? Is it his fault that the twin towers fell? Of course it isn't. But no matter how ridiculous it may sound, there are still those that will think that the twin towers situation was somehow the presidents fault. And all I can say to those people is may God forgive them for their ignorance.

It is like when people blame God for their problems. You may have heard phrases like, "If there is a God, then how could he have let my two daughters and wife die in a fiery car crash on the freeway." Or, "If there is a God, then how could he have let my baby die." The answer to these questions are not answered in throwing a fist at God. They are not answered in turning from Christian ways and following another more thorny path. A path like this only leads to destruction. A path like this can only serve to make you realize, eventually, after the damage has been done, that it wasn't Gods fault, and that maybe if you had been more attentive to receiving the love of God, that maybe your loved ones may have been saved.

What if that was the case? What if your wife had prayed while she was driving the car and had asked God to make her and her children safe? Maybe God would have warned her in time to keep the fiery crash from happening? But yet in her hectic life, she may have been thinking about laundry, or figuring out how to juggle finances to afford your daughters prom dress, or how to find the time to go on that honeymoon that you promised her many moons ago. And in so doing, she may have ignored the signs from God that would have warned her of what was coming, but instead she was distracted for the slightest second, did not have the time to pray for her safety and was involved in an accident that claimed her life as well as the lives of your children.

So under those circumstances, how could anyone justify blaming God for these events? That is why a relationship is so important with God. All we have to do is grow closer to him and ask him to make us safe. And then further still the argument would be that your wife was a very strong Christian with a deep love for God. But how do you know that she had not prayed for guidance and maybe, just maybe, she had fallen away from God temporarily because of a scuffle at work or at a conference with the school principal, and in so doing ignored the signs from God.

1 John 3:1 Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and (such) we are. For this cause the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. ASV

1 John 3:1 See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children-think of it-and we really are! But since most people don't know God, naturally they don't understand that we are his children. TLB

Whatever the case may be, there is never any reason to blame God for the bad things that happen to good people. There is no reason for blaming the president for the lives of soldiers that were taken in Iraq. You can blame that on the terrorists that bombed our country, who claim they are doing so in the name of God.

Now how sick is that? I don't care how much a person feels that killing innocents is justified because they are thought of as infidels. It doesn't matter to them that the U.S. has probably given their country a great deal of money to mend their problems. It doesn't matter to them all the aid from the U.S. that they have gotten in massive amounts of food and supplies to feed their starving children. It also doesn't matter how many weapons they are given that they in turn use to blow off the hand that feeds them. But yet no matter how much aid we give them, the U.S. to them is the infidel country, and we must be stopped.

Stopped from what? Feeding their children? Giving them medical supplies that save their loved ones? How ridiculous can a person get?

And then there are the parents that have a baby that dies. Did the mother take care of herself and eat right, and never drank or did any kind of drugs, or smoked or did anything in her lifetime that might have given her poor health which might have been passed on to the baby?

Ephesians 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: KJV

Ephesians 1:4 Long ago, even before he made the world, God chose us to be his very own through what Christ would do for us; he decided then to make us holy in his eyes, without a single fault-we who stand before him covered with his love. TLB

In other words it is not a matter of blaming God, it is a matter of not wanting to blame ourselves for whatever caused bad things to happen to good people. Instead of blaming God for your misfortune, think about how God could improve your life right now, in the present. Try to realize that God can bless you in many ways. Try to realize that the world has many distractions that we immerse ourselves in on a daily basis. That is where the blame lies.

Put blame where blame is due. Not on God or the president, but on our ability to really screw things up at a moments notice.

Prayer: Dear Lord, I am often distracted by the cause and effect of the world. I am distracted by my own selfish thoughts, and often without realizing it fall further from your grace and your Love. Please help guide me at these times and help me to read the signs you give me on a daily basis. Thank you for all your many blessings. Amen.

Benediction: Now, Lord, Bless us in our daily lives. Help us to smell the roses whenever possible, to shine our light on those less fortunate than us, and lead us in the path we should go. For you are the light that keeps our path well lit. Help us to follow it, until we meet you, in a land where milk and honey abound, a place where our most wonderful dreams are fulfilled. Amen.

Hi, my name is Bryan, a messenger of hope who would love to hear from you. God Bless.

© 2006 Bryan Hill