Genesis 3:12 And the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

      What is a false flag? A false flag operation is an act committed with the intent of disguising the actual source of responsibility and pinning the blame on another party.

      Whether by choice or subconsciously, the default setting of the culture we live in has accepted the pinning of blame on other parties as the norm. Blaming all situations for all personal problems one has in life on something or someone else is becoming normal behaviour. If the problems are with our children, spouse, or neighbour the blame is never ours even though we are the common denominator in all the relationships.

      Who do you blame when you sin? Who do you blame for all the problems in your family, relationships, or work life? Stop blaming others and let us put the blame and criticism where it belongs – on ourselves. 1John 1:6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. We need to practice the truth so that the bitterness that results from blame does not permeate our souls and defile our ability to reason with God when He points at what we need to repent for. The hard question I need to ask myself is, why do I plant a false flag when something I missed the mark on is revealed to my heart?  Why are the thought lines across my forehead so tight from concentrating on looking for a place to shift the blame for what I have done? Where did the fear of being wrong, or the feeling of accusation come from? When these things are taking place in our hearts, it is most likely that we have lost our peace in Christ. We have stopped resting in the work of the cross. The salvation of our souls has shifted to our altars of self-righteousness and the first sacrifice on that altar is the one you blamed.

      Jesus suffered the blame for our sins and He took those sins to the cross He was nailed to. There is no need to rebuild an altar of self-righteous works in our hearts. The Lord has done the finished work of salvation for us, and we only need to surrender to that fact. The Apostle John says it so simply. 1John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we confess our sins and not shift the blame of them to others, but take them to the cross we will be forgiven. How have we complicated such a gracious gift? Maybe the issue is that the gift is too wonderful and gracious and our selfish hearts cannot accept so great a sacrifice because we know that if we submit to this amazing love, then there is nothing that Jesus cannot ask of us.

      Jesus had two unlikely defenders on the day all the sins and blame of the world were placed upon Him. Pilot’s wife warned Pilot not to have anything to do with this innocent man. Matt. 27:19 While Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered terribly in a dream today because of Him.” She called Jesus what he was, but the mob could not see His innocence because of the frenzied blame they threw at Him. The thief who was crucified with Christ also spoke up for the Lord’s innocence. Luke 23:41 We are punished justly, because we’re getting back what we deserve for the things we did, but this man has done nothing wrong. The weight of the sins of the world was too great for these two sinful people to deliver Jesus. However, Jesus had all of the authority of the Godhead to deliver mankind from the death that sin had brought into the world.

      The thief and Pilot’s wife could not deliver Jesus from the wrath that sin had caused within the souls of man because they too needed to be delivered of sin. Sin cannot cast out sin, but righteousness can destroy sin and the iniquities it causes. The world is in turmoil because nations are blaming other nations for the wars, famines, pollution, and greed on the earth. The blame game is within the politics of society. This finger-pointing eventually points back to themselves who are responsible for the laws, rules, and edicts they made. Ahab who was steeped in sin and corruption of every kind blamed Elijah for the problems of Israel. 1Kings 18:17 When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is this you, you troubler of Israel?” However, Elijah by the Spirit of God pointed out that the false flag Aham was spewing was pure rubbish and that Aham himself was the source of Israel’s problems. 1Kings 18:18 Elijah said, “I have not brought disaster on Israel, but you and your father’s household have, by abandoning and rejecting the commandments of the LORD and by following the Baals. Ahab was looking for someone to blame, but the blame was totally on the choices being made in his life.

      As long as we look for someone to blame for our wrongdoings, mistakes, and outright evil acts, we will remain pathetically immature in the faith. Heb. 5:12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers because of the time you have had to learn these truths, you actually need someone to teach you again the elementary principles of God’s word from the beginning, and you have come to be continually in need of milk, not solid food. Bitter and sour milk will be our meal of discontent because we refuse to accept responsibility for the false flags we present and the choices we make. Our responsibility in the faith is to answer to God and Him alone. Practising truth and living in it is as much a choice as blaming someone else is also a choice. Growing up in the faith is a choice as remaining immature is a choice. Let us be established in the truth of God by walking with Jesus who is the way, truth, and life, rather than planting a false flag of deception. Let us establish the banner of God over us, which is love.