She made me mean, David said. I didn’t understand what he meant at first.

Bethel had knocked over his tape measure (on purpose or accident, I know not) and David let loose with angry words. If he knew any swear words, he would probably have used them.

I’m not sure what I said, but at some point in the discussion, David said She made me mean. David knew he was unkind, but he blamed Bethel for his outburst. I wasn’t prepared for this line of thinking, so I just told him we’d talk about it later. Now, how to talk about this… I suppose talking about Adam and Eve might be a good start. Or even Jesus, who did not react when He was mistreated. People cannot choose how they are treated, but they can choose their reactions. Maybe the old tea bag illustration might be appropriate.

Perhaps it was the precise expression in child-like terms that struck me, but I suppose all blame-shifting (like he hit me too) involves an attempt to diffuse guilt. We probably don’t help matters when we use language like “What did Bethel do to make you angry?” Blame shifting reflects a false belief about sin that will hinder him from seeing his need for salvation.

Similar Posts:

• The Tea Bag Illustration
• Are You Going to Obey?
• Using Bible Vocabulary
• Heartfelt Discipline Review– Part 3
• What Do You Want to Be?

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