Passing The Buck

By John Stallings


A baseball team was having problems with their center-fielder.

Smith played the position but it seemed every fly-ball that came his way he’d get his glove on it but couldn’t catch it. During one game this was happening repeatedly.

Finally the coach took Smith out and put in a very good center-fielder named Jones. Jones ran out into center field with his game face on and a great show of confidence as if to say, there’ll be no more errors today. Low and behold, every fly ball that came toward Jones was dropped- to his utter embarrassment.

After a few more misses by Jones the coach had to remove him because he wasn’t doing any better than Smith. So out to center field runs the newbie, a man named Clark. Now things would pick up. To the utter astonishment of the fans, every single fly ball that went out to Clark went right through his glove just as it had Jones and Smiths.’ The coach went out to talk to Clark saying that if he didn’t stop making errors, he’d have to replace him as he did the others.

The very next fly ball that came to Clark was dropped. He stormed off the field in total disgust and was heard to say as he walked along the sidelines, “those guys have got center field so messed up nobody could play it now.”

I did a little research on the meaning and origins of the term “buck-passing.” As I understand it the odd expression appears to have come from the old days during card games where passing the buck was actually buckshot. A token was used in a game to show who was next to deal---a bit of buckshot. In order to designate who had responsibility for dealing next, you would literally pass the buckshot. This was later shortened to buck. Over time, the phrase “passing the buck” came to mean that you pass responsibility onto someone or something else.

How often in an average day do we hear, “You did it” “you caused it”- "Don’t look at me’-“you’re to blame” “I did nothing wrong”- “I’m innocent.” We do this almost as a natural reflex. Blame is so easy to dish out, isn’t it?

In the last few weeks of watching the news I’ve heard the term used dozens of times by politicians, most recently by the president. Speaking of presidents; you’ve most likely heard that President Harry Truman was famous for keeping a small plague on his desk reading “The Buck Stops Here.”

In the few months of the oil gush, we’ve seen and heard the buck passed numbers of times. There are more versions of “The dog ate my homework” than I ever knew existed. President Reagan kept a plaque on his desk saying, “There is no limit to what you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit.” It seems to me our present leaders could have one that read, “There’s no limit to the credit you can get if you don’t care who did the accomplishing.”

We see buck-passing in smokers with self-imposed addictions attempting to get millions from tobacco companies by shifting the blame for their habit, obviously unable to read the ominous warnings from The Surgeon General on each pack.

We see it in public officials every time they pass the blame for some failure to their predecessors.

THE BLAME GAME

Passing the buck happens when you blame other people for your problems. It’s a way of explaining why life hasn’t worked out the way you would like. You’ve been treated unfairly; you’ve ended up on the short end of the stick; you’ve been dealt a lousy hand of cards. You’re a victim. And that’s how you get through life—by blaming other people for the bad things that happen to you.

If you’re late turning in a report at work, that’s easy. You just say, “I would have turned it in earlier but Frank was late getting the statistics to me.”

If you lose your job, it’s because the boss was unreasonable, he didn’t understand you, he had it in for you, and he hated you from the moment you walked into the office.

—If you didn’t keep a promise, it’s because you were too busy doing other things.

—If you failed to do your homework, it’s because your roommate borrowed the textbook and wouldn’t give it back.

—If you lost your temper, it’s because “they” provoked you.

- If a relationship ended, it couldn’t have been your fault. Of course not. You are a nice person.

The other person was a creep. That’s all there is to it.

Sound familiar? It ought to. Most of us know all too well about being a victim. Years ago we learned the victim’s battle cry—"It’s not my fault.” We’re not always sure whose fault it is, but we know it’s not our fault.

Who me? Couldn’t be. Impossible. Unthinkable.

But if it’s not us, it must be somebody else. Maybe it’s Jones or Smith. Our parents, possibly. It’s popular to blame parents nowadays for every kind of psychological illness. If it’s not our parents, then it’s probably our brothers or sisters. They never treated us right. We were always overlooked. But if not our parents, the world is still full of candidates.

It could be our grandparents who messed us up. Or maybe it was the friends we ran around with in high school. Maybe we ran with the wrong crowd and they corrupted us, or maybe we ran with the good crowd and we ended up too good for our own good. Of course, you can always blame your husband. After all, he’s probably just a bone-head. Or you can blame your wife. She’s far from perfect. Or maybe it’s the people where you work.

ADAM AND EVE – CLASSIC BUCK-PASSERS

There’s a reason why we’re so good at the blame game. We make excuses because excuse-making is in our family tree. It’s in our spiritual bloodstream. When we pass the buck, we’re only doing what our ancestors did.

Let’s roll the tape backwards to the Garden of Eden. Let’s focus our lens right after Adam and Eve have eaten the forbidden fruit. To the untrained eye, it still looks like paradise. Adam has just eaten the fruit and a silly, guilty grin slides across his face. He knows he’s done something wrong, but he has no idea what is about to happen next.

It happens so fast. He looks at Eve and notices something he never saw before. She doesn’t have any clothes on. That’s a shock to him. Then he looks down. He’s naked too. The thought crosses his mind, “We better cover ourselves up.”

But where did that thought come from? It came from a mind that has just had its first encounter with sin. Adam and Eve never wore clothes before because they never knew they were naked. The shame of nakedness is the first result of the fall.

Sin first brings shame. And with shame comes the disgrace of being uncovered. Then a strange sound of footsteps. Who could it be? It’s the Lord walking in the garden in the cool of the day.

Instinctively [and I used that word carefully] Adam and Eve hide themselves. Why? Who told them to hide? No one had to tell them anything. Their guilty consciences condemned them. Disobedience is now bearing its bitter fruit. Where once they enjoyed unbroken fellowship with God, - now sin has separated them from their Creator. Hiding from God is the second result of the fall.

But now the truth is about to come out. When God calls out for Adam, the man answers, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” There was no shame in nakedness as long as there was nothing to hide, but once sin entered the picture, Adam could not face God uncovered.

Then the question, “Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat of?” And the answer, -“The woman that you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

That’s a classic piece of buck-passing. Blame it on the woman and if that doesn’t work, blame it on God. Minimize your guilt by making the others look bad.

But the story still isn’t over. God turns to Eve and asks her, “What is this you have done?” Listen to her answer: “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Do you know what’s so tricky about those two answers? Technically, Adam and Eve both told the truth. Adam told the truth when he said Eve gave him the fruit. Eve told the truth when she said the serpent deceived her. But both of them were making excuses as a means of avoiding personal responsibility. As long as Adam could blame Eve, he didn’t look so bad. And as long as Eve could blame the serpent, she looks like an innocent victim.

That explains many things. First, it tells us that the tendency to blame others is deeply ingrained in human nature. Second, it tells us that left to ourselves; we will do anything to avoid taking personal responsibility for our actions. Third, it tells us that blaming others is often nothing more than a subtle twisting of the truth in order to take the heat off of ourselves. Fourth, it tells us that without a deep working of the grace of God within us, we will do exactly what Adam and
Eve did.

CHEATING HEARTS

Jeremiah wrote in 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and beyond cure. Who can understand it.”

We are by nature so deceitful that we will do anything say anything to avoid admitting the truth about ourselves. And we will do anything to avoid taking personal responsibility for our actions.

We live in a society which teaches us to blame other people for our problems. And we go along with it because blaming others is in our spiritual bloodstream. Passing the buck is part of our inherited sin nature. Adam was the first buck-passer; Eve was the second. But they weren’t the last. After thousands of years, we’ve learned our lessons well.

THE MAN AT THE POOL OF BETHESDA

There’s a wonderful story in John 5 that brings this issue to the surface. Jesus had come to Jerusalem during one of the yearly feasts. Thousands of pilgrims were there from throughout Israel. While he was there, he paid a visit to a place called Bethesda, “the house of mercy.” It was a pool near the Sheep Gate in the northeastern section of the city. Five porches were built by the pool. It was the Jewish Lourdes of that day. The Jews believed that an angel would come and periodically stir the waters. The first person to enter the water after it had been stirred would be healed of his diseases.

So hundreds of sick and infirm people gathered around the pool, waiting and hoping for the water to be stirred. On the day that Jesus passed by, he met a man who had been an invalid for 38 years. When He found out how long the man had been paralyzed, He asked only one question, “Do you want to be well?”

On the surface it seems to be a bizarre question. Why else would the man be there? Of course he wanted to be well. Was Jesus insulting his intelligence? No, not at all. He was asking a very serious question. He was asking because it was entirely possible that the man did not want to get well.

The man answers this way: “Do I want to be healed? That’s a crazy question. Why do you think I’m here? You must be new here. You don’t understand the problem. Every time the water is stirred, somebody else beats me to the water. No one will ever help me. They just push me out of the way.” Have you ever heard a sadder story? Ain’t it a shame?”

I think Jesus is probing at the level of the will. He’s saying, “Stop blaming others for your problems. I have the power to make you well. But I won’t exercise my power until you decide you want to be well. If I make you well, you can’t sit here and gossip all day. If I make you well, you can’t be a beggar anymore. If I make you well, you can’t use your illness to get special treatment at home. If I make you well, you won’t get all that sympathy anymore. There’s a price to be paid for being well. Do you want to pay it?”

Jesus is saying, “Do you really want to be changed?” If the answer is yes, then miracles can take place. If the answer is no, then even Jesus cannot help you.

As I wrote in a recent blog, change is scary. It takes a lot of faith to truly want Jesus to change you. Sometimes it’s easier to stay the way you are.

The Son of God won’t barge into your life unless you invite him in. He will not change you unless you want to be changed.

THE “POOR ME” ATTITUDE

The man at the pool was indulging in self-pity.

How do you spot a person with a “poor me” attitude? There are several signs:

•They endlessly repeat how others have mistreated them.

•They view the world as hostile and unfair to them.

•They are “beachcombers of misery” who see each grievance as a treasure to add to their collection.

•They have a hidden need to feel bad. Many have enjoyed bad health for years.

•They live by the childish notion that life should always be fair to them.
•They find it very difficult to forgive others because forgiveness is a sign of weakness.

•They have a competitive view of life in which others are always winning at their expense.

•They have difficulty maintaining close friendships because they eventually turn on their close friends.

•They see themselves as permanent victims.

•They tend to be pessimists, always anticipating the worst possible outcome in every situation. Their pessimism becomes a form of self-fulfilling prophecy.

•They destroy their closest relationships because they have difficulty trusting other people.

It’s hard to break the poor-me attitude because people derive a kind of perverse satisfaction from it. However- the cost is high for the “poor me” folk.

They pay for that pleasure by forfeiting the hope of happiness. Only when we ask whether the price tag is too steep does change become possible.

Have you given up the hope of happiness? Perhaps you feel like the man lying beside the pool for 38 years. “There’s no hope for me. Things will never change. Somebody else will always get there first.”

If you feel that way, then let me ask the question Jesus asked: Do you want to be healed? That’s the first step in a new life. Do you want Jesus Christ to come into your life and change you?

Only God Gives Us Hope

Some people have felt like losers for years and years. When they tally up the score, they always seem to be losing by four touchdowns.

Here is the gospel: In Jesus Christ you are already a winner! That’s what grace is all about. He takes perpetual losers and he transforms them into eternal winners. He takes people who have no hope and he gives them a hope and a future. He takes people who are down on their luck and makes them recipients of sovereign grace.

Here is the proof that you are at last beginning to grow in your spiritual life:

—You no longer need to defend yourself.

—You no longer have to blame others for your problems.

—You don’t have to win every time.

Are you tempted to blame others for your problems? Are you tempted to take the dirt of your failures and throw it on them? Don’t do it. All you’ll do is make them dirty. You won’t make yourself clean. You can’t get rid of the dirt by throwing it on someone else.

If you are willing to accept responsibility for your own life, God is willing to come in and do his work in your life. He can redeem your failures and your mistakes. He can turn the dirt into compost. And from the fertilizer of your failure, a new life can grow.
He can do that. That’s what grace is all about.

But you’ve got to stop throwing your stuff on other people. You’ve got to finally say, “This dirt is mine.” When you do, the work of redemption begins. And when at last God has done his work, something beautiful will begin to blossom out of the soil of your bitter mistakes.

AHAB AND THE PROPHET ELIJAH

In 1 Kings 18:17 king Ahab told the prophet Elijah, when speaking of the drought that Elijah had pronounced, -

“You are the man who troubles Israel.” Elijah answered right back telling the king the truth, “No, you’re the one who troubles Israel.”

SARAH

You will remember that Sarah persuaded Abram to sleep with Hagar but she immediately passed the buck to her husband when things didn’t turn out as she’d planned.

ESAU

You will also remember Esau who carelessly sells his birthright for a bowl of bean soup demonstrating his contempt for his birthright then turns around and bitterly accuses Jacob of stealing it.

AARON

The first high priest of Israel passed the buck to the people when Moses confronted him about forging the molten calf. He told Moses, “Don’t get mad at me—you know these people.” Aaron denied all culpability in making the idol from melted gold, when he was largely responsible.
Like some names we’ve already called, Aaron was quick to take credit for things done properly but lightening quick to shift the blame when things ran amok. So the beat goes on.

KING SAUL

When King Saul was confronted by Samuel about why he didn’t obey God and totally destroy the Amalekites animals and all, he blamed the people.

PILATE

When Pilate saw that he couldn’t keep the mob under control he washed his hands in front of the multitude and said, “I am innocent of the blood of this just person.”

BLAMING THE DEVIL

The late comedian Flip Wilson had a famous line, “The devil made me do it.”
The devil is an awesome foe but you and I know the devil can’t force Christians to do something they don’t want to do.

Listen to Proverbs 28:13;

He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.

Let me make one last suggestion here. Look in the mirror. This a good place to start. Are you a blamer? The answer is probably yes because as we’ve said, that’s part of Original Sin we inherited from Adam and Eve. The better question is probably-in what ways do I use blame as an excuse for not accepting responsibility?

If you and I want the blessings of God on our lives, we must mentally place a sign on the desk of our hearts reading, “The Buck Stops here.” After that we must stand solidly behind it and put it to work in our Christian walk.


When this happens we’ll begin to take quantum steps toward Christian growth.


Blessings,


John