The Bible contains examples of people who attempted to blame God for their shortcomings. While God is not the source of temptation, He allows us to be tempted. James 1:13-15 says, “Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God" for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”

Even so, God provides a means of escape for those who avail themselves to it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” Thus, no one can truly blame God when the succumb to sin—it is a choice they make for themselves.

In the parable of the talents, the one talent bondservant blamed the master of the house for his laziness. When he did not capitalize on the talent he had been given, he said this to the Lord of the estate, “Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours” (Matthew 25:24b-25). He quickly tried to dispel his blame for inactivity during the lord’s absence.

To accomplish that goal, he was critical of the lord and made the charge that he was a difficult person to serve. There might be some truth to this idea. Afterall, the Lord expects people to change if they want to be His disciple. While that change includes repentance (Luke 13:3,5), it also includes the idea of being a good steward of what we have been entrusted with in His service. That was the problem with the one talent servant. He was not willing to use his talent in making a profit for his lord—even when his master knew he could accomplish something with what he had been entrusted.

God did not expect more of His servants than what they are able to accomplish. Matthew 25:15 says, “And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.” He did not give the two talent servant five talents, and he did not give the one talent servant two talents. He provided his servants with the means to be successful and not fail at their tasks. God expects the very same things from us.

That service might include gathering in areas we might not otherwise consider. Some of the Jews in Jesus’ age might have left the Samaritans and Gentiles out of God’s plan for salvation. Christ did not. Act 1:8b “…You shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Jesus wanted all of humankind to be saved and we are to be “gathering” for Him in all places (cf. Mark 16:15-16).

While we profit from the grace God has given to us, we need to be sharing that grace with others who are unaware of the plan of salvation. The simple fact is Jesus did all of the hard

work in securing our salvation, He expects us to labor in His vineyard and there are many benefits for all people involved in doing personal evangelism. Proverbs 11:30 says, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who wins souls is wise.”

When Adam transgressed the commandments of God in Eden, he partially blamed Jehovah for his sin. Notice the wording in Genesis 3:12. “Then the man said, ‘The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.’" Since God gave Adam a wife and she fell prey to the serpent, it was God’s fault for creating her. What logic?!

God allows people to be tempted, but He is not the source of that temptation. (cf. James 1:13-15). Some people would attempt to blame God when they transgress His will. Their logic might be “If God had not allowed me to be tempted, I would not have made a mistake.” Adam and Eve might have reasoned, “God should not have planted the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden if He truly did not want me to fail in His service.”

These arguments stand in contradistinction to idea of free choice. God wants us to freely chose Him. He could have created humankind as automatons who continually praise Him and do no wrong. Instead, He created human beings with the ability to love Him above all the world has to offer. 1 John 4:9-10 says, “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” He wants us to freely and completely chose the One who chose us first and free choice allows us to do just that!

Sadly, the influence of sin can cause a person to reach a point in their life where they are unreachable by a loving God. The Heavenly Father will not force a person to choose good or evil. In choosing evil, God gives them over to the consequences of that choice. Romans 1:20-22 says, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools.” Let us choose Him above all else.