Several years ago I cut a little article out of a Christian newspaper. I threw the article in my nightstand drawer where I keep some of the illustrations I’ve accumulated and didn’t think much more about it. Today I was sifting through those illustrations and again came across the article. It was now somewhat faded from being in that drawer so long, but I was amazed at how relevant the words still are for these current times. The article is entitled “Nobody to Blame!” and goes like this:

When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they did the same thing people have done ever since — they started making excuses. Adam blamed Eve. Eve blamed the serpent. Nobody stepped up and said, “It was my fault.” What if they had used some of the same stupid excuses we use today?

They could have said their sin was due to the environment in which they lived, but their environment was perfect. They could have said it was a lack of education that made them do it, but they were the most educated people on earth. They could have blamed it all on their in-laws, but they didn’t have any. They could have claimed that their sin was due to a repressive government, but they only had one law. How repressive is that?

They could have said poverty was the problem, but they had the whole world. They could have blamed injustices in society, but they were society. They could have blamed the influence of TV and video games, but those hadn’t been invented yet. They could have said it was all because of an absentee dad, but their Father was with them every day.

They could have pinned it on their upbringing, but they were created as adults and never had any upbringing. They could have blamed racial problems, but Adam was the only man, and Eve was taken out of him, so I would imagine they were both of the same race. They could have said their sin was the only way to get ahead, but who was there to get ahead of?

No, none of these excuses would hold water, and neither will any of ours. “So…they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:20-22).

Now let me tell you the fascinating thing about this article. It was written by a prisoner who was at the time serving a sentence in a state prison in the south. The prisoner’s name remained anonymous, but the initials were T.S.P. After all these years, I have no idea if the prisoner is alive or dead or ever got released. I don’t even know if T.S.P. refers to a man or a woman. All I know is that whoever it was, they certainly wrote the truth about how we all unsuccessfully attempt to shift the blame for our sins.