The Mines of King Solomon (part 14)

I just couldn't help but think of Basil when I said Proverbs 19,3 read. People ruin their lives by their own stupidity. Why is God always blamed for this and pilloried? Basil? Who is basil Basil Fawlty is the main character of the very successful British comedy show Fawlty Towers and is played by John Cleese. Basil is a cynical, rude, paranoid man who runs a hotel in the seaside town of Todquay, England. He takes out his anger on others by blaming them for his own stupidities. The victim is usually the Spanish waiter Manuel. With the phrase We're sorry. He is from Barcelona. Basil blames him for everything and everyone. In one scene, Basil completely loses his nerve. There is a fire and Basil tries to find the key to manually trigger the fire alarm, but he has misplaced the key. Instead of blaming people or objects (like his car) for the situation as usual, he clenches his fist in the sky and cynically shouts thank you God! Thanks very much! Are you like Basil? Do you always blame others and even God when something bad happens to you?

  • If you pass an exam, you say I actually passed, but my teacher just does not like me.
  • If you lose patience, was it because you were provoked?
  • If your team loses, was it because the referee was biased?
  • If you have mental health problems, is it always your parents, siblings, grandparents' fault?

This list can be continued indefinitely. But they all have one thing in common: the idea that you are always only the innocent victim. Blaming others for bad things isn't just Basil's problem - it's ingrained deeply in our nature and part of our family tree. When we blame others, we are doing exactly what our ancestors did. When they disobeyed God, Adam blamed Eve and God for it, and Eve puts the blame on the serpent (1. 3: 12-13).
 
But why did they react that way? The answer helps us understand what made us the people we are today. Even today, this scenario is still taking place. Imagine this scene: Satan comes to Adam and Eve and entices them to eat from the tree. His purpose is to defeat God's plan for them and the people who came after them. Satan's method? He told them a lie. You can become just like God. How would you react if you were Adam and Eve and heard these words? They look around and see that everything is perfect. God is perfect, he has created a perfect world and has total control over this perfect world and all that is in it. This perfect world is just the thing for a perfect God.

It's not hard to imagine what Adam and Eve thought:
If I can become like God, then I am perfect. I will be the best and have complete control over my life and everything else around me! Adam and Eve fall into Satan's snare. They disobey God's commandments and eat the forbidden fruit in the garden. They exchange the truth of God for a lie (Rom 1,25). To their horror, they realize that they are far from divine. Worse - they're less than they were a few minutes ago. Even when surrounded by God's infinite love, they lose all sense of being loved. You are embarrassed, ashamed, and plagued with guilt. Not only have they disobeyed God, but they realize that they are not perfect and that they are not in control of anything - they are completely inadequate. The couple, who no longer feel comfortable in their own skin and whose minds are shrouded in darkness, use fig leaves as an emergency cover, use fig leaves as emergency clothing and try to hide their shame from each other. I won't let you know that I'm actually not perfect - you won't find out who I really am because I am ashamed of it. Their life is now based on the assumption that they can only be loved if they are perfect.

Is it really surprising when we still struggle with thoughts like: "I am worthless and not important anyway"? So here we have it. Adam and Eve's understanding of who God is and who they are has been messed up. Although they knew about God, they did not want to worship him as God or thank him. Instead, they began to have nonsensical ideas about God and their minds darkened and became confused (Rom 1,21 New Life Bible). Like toxic rubbish thrown into a river, this lie and what it brought with it has spread and contaminated humanity. The fig leaves are still cultivated to this day.

Making others responsible for something and looking for excuses is a huge mask that we set up because we can not confess to ourselves and to others that we are anything but perfect. That is why we lie, we exaggerate and look for the culprit in others. If something goes awry at work or at home, it's not my fault. We wear these masks to hide our feelings of shame and worthlessness. Just look! I am perfect. Everything works in my life. But behind this mask comes the following: If you knew me as I really am, you would not love me anymore. But if I can prove to you that I have everything under control, then you will accept and like me. Act has become part of our identity.

What can we do? I recently lost my car keys. I looked in my pockets, in every room in our house, in the drawers, on the floor, in every corner. Unfortunately, I am ashamed to admit that I blamed my wife and children for the absence of the keys. After all, everything runs smoothly for me, I have everything under control and I don't lose anything! Finally, I found my keys - in the ignition lock of my car. No matter how meticulously and long I had searched, I would never have found my car keys in my house or the belongings of my family members because they simply weren't there. If we look to others for the causes of our problems, we will rarely find them. Because they cannot be found there. Most of the time they lie simply and poignantly within ourselves. Man's folly leads him astray, and yet his heart rages against the Lord (Proverbs 19: 3). Admit it when you've made a mistake and take responsibility for it! Most importantly, try to stop being that perfect person you think you need to be. Stop believing that you will only be accepted and loved if you are that perfect person. In the Fall, we lost our true identities, but when Jesus died on the cross, the lie of conditional love also died forever. Do not believe this lie, but believe that God takes pleasure in you, accepts you and loves you unconditionally - regardless of your feelings, your weaknesses and even your stupidities. Lean on this fundamental truth. You don't have to prove anything to yourself or to others. Don't blame anyone else. Don't be a basil.

by Gordon Green


pdfThe Mines of King Solomon (part 14)