The Great Temptation of Every Man

We are masters at avoiding responsibility, even for the little things.

The man had chosen the wrong seat. It was an easy mistake. The numbers on the airplane aisles don’t always line up perfectly.

It had caused a pile-up of pointing fingers as more and more people were sitting in the wrong seat until all the fingers finally found the first cause.

The guy could have apologized and laughed it off. Instead, he became belligerent.

“We’re all going to the same place! Don’t know why everyone’s making such a big deal about it.”

But no one was making a big deal about it except him. No one had insulted anyone or demanded restitution. Everyone had been polite and calm in their inquiries. Mild confusion, not anger, was the prevailing emotion.

The man was clearly embarrassed by his mistake, and instead of accepting responsibility, he cast blame on everyone else. He eventually moved to his correct seat, but not until he raised his voice about how much of an imposition it was.

This meme comes to mind:

This story plays out every day in our homes and in our work. You make a mistake, and immediately you start looking around for someone else to blame it on. Usually, your wife and kids are the victims of this flight from responsibility.

You trip over a toy and blame the child or kick the dog for their carelessness, even though you weren’t watching where you were going.

Your son has done something he’s done dozens of times before, and you let it slide because you were apathetic and lazy, but this time, you really let him have it. He should have known better! But he didn’t know any better, because you didn’t teach him. It was your fault, and instead of taking responsibility, you give in to the catharsis of anger.

You have to stop to get gas and end up being late, so you blame your wife because she drove it last night and didn’t fill it up. But you didn’t ask, nor did you pay attention to the fuel gauge. You also could have left a little earlier.

This is the great temptation of men everywhere: To refuse responsibility. Even when the blame is obvious, like with the man who sat in the wrong seat, we would rather create an elaborate story in our minds to absolve ourselves, even when it makes us fools.

Own your mistakes. Apologize like a man.

No is believes your lies anyway. Not even yourself.