Twister, Scrabble, Candyland, The Game of Life.  They are obviously popular board games.  But those games pale in comparison to the popularity of the Blame Game.  We all play it.  We are subtle about it.  We do it behind the scenes without a lot of people realizing it, yet many of us are caught up and mesmerized by the Blame Game.  We wake up in the morning, grab a cup of coffee, take a shower and we carefully look for the pieces of the Blame Game, put the board in the Blame Game box, put it under our arms and head out into the world.

If we are fifteen minutes late to work, no problem, we blame it on the traffic.  If our kid has problems in school, we blame the teacher or the principal.  If we have any relational problems, especially a marriage difficulty, we blame it on our spouse.  Our society is caught up in blame.  Blamelessness has become an art form.  Have you ever read those “Not Responsible For” signs?  You hang your coat up in a restaurant and the sign reads, “Management Not Responsible for Harmed or Stolen Garments.”  For those of us who fly around now and then, have you ever read the fine print on your airline ticket?  It says that the airline industry is not responsible for delayed flights or missed connections.  If you do happen to lose your luggage, yes, they will pay an amount, and only the amount,  agreed upon around 1962 in some obscure conference in Las Vegas.  Try parking your car in an expensive lot in downtown Dallas.  You will see the “Not Responsible For” sign.  If you car is stolen or damaged, they will not be responsible.

Our culture has two major people groups, the Blaming Boomers and Generation X-cuse.  The Boomers bash their parents.  They say their parents are responsible for the messed up condition they are in.  The Xers say it is the Boomers, those wild and wacky and materialistic Boomers.  That’s why the Xers are in such a mess.  The Blame Game.  Blamelessness is as American as the Constitution.  Doesn’t the Fifth Amendment say that no one can make us blame ourselves for anything?  I think it does.