So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

Genesis 3:6

We all make mistakes. Big ones, small ones, they happen. We probably make errors almost every day. It’s just part of being human.

Some mistakes are “whoopsies.” When you forget to move the laundry to the dryer and it sits overnight, thus needing to be washed again.

Other mistakes are things we do on purpose, knowing it was wrong. Like speeding, and then getting a ticket.

Either way, when we make mistakes, we have to accept the consequences.

Unfortunately we tend to shift the blame elsewhere whenever possible. Find a reason for the mistake, something other than our miscalculation or error.

Even Adam and Eve laid blame elsewhere. The first mistake ever recorded and they immediately tried to point the finger at someone else. Adam blamed his wife and Eve blamed the serpent.

However, they all were guilty of ignoring God’s instructions. God had made it clear, “do not eat from that tree.” There wasn’t any way to misinterpret what he said. But the serpent was convincing and Eve listened. Then Adam also was convinced and he too ate the fruit.

Their consequences were dire and impacted all of humanity. So I can understand why they wanted to shift the blame from themselves. They realized right away it was more than just a “whoopsie.”

We need to be honest about our blunders and accept the consequence of them. God gave us freedom to choose, but we are not free from the consequences of our choices.

The thing is, when we accept the consequence we are also given a chance to learn. If we acknowledge we made an error then we can look for ways to avoid it next time. If we constantly blame someone or something else, we never learn.

Consequences aren’t there to hurt us, they serve a purpose.

For the same reason we give a child a time out after they’ve broken a rule. It gives them a chance to think about their actions and (hopefully) not do it again.

It can be hard to accept consequences. We don’t like being reprimanded or taking responsibility for a mistake. But if we approach it as a learning opportunity and don’t make the same mistake again, then it is worth it.

So accept your mistakes with grace. Don’t get pouty or point the finger at someone else. Step up, admit what happened and move forward. Will it be easy? Will it be fun? Probably not. But we will grow as individuals, learn to ask for forgiveness and know better for next time!