The Game Blame…Use Only With Honesty! …Hello Hump Day Readers! Here we are in the middle of another week and here in New Mexico we have fires both in the forests and in the hearts of people who have a reason to blame. That got me thinking about the blame-game and how often we can use it—to the good as well as the bad—the bad meaning a “cover-up.” It’s easy to play the blame-game when we are annoyed, caught in a lie, or worse yet, using that game to hurt another person.

But here in New Mexico, we have a different problem. The National Forest has once again ignored high winds of 40+MPH, to do a “controlled” fire! It was out of control in less than an hour. 11 years ago they did the same thing and we almost lost Los Alamos National Labs! Eight years ago—same thing up on the Kaibab forest heading out to the North side of the Grand Canyon. I could go on with this “stupidity” but you get the point. We need to clean the forests, but not burn them down—or the people around them!

Now, up in Las Vegas, NM the fires are well over 160,000 acres and the largest in the U.S. at the moment. Over 300 homes are gone including barns, home-businesses, fields and sadly, livestock which many depend on for their living. One would think you would get more than a “We’re sorry” reply, right? Not so, in fact, after this hit the news and the NFS was castigated throughout the nation, they replied: “We have immunity”—really? That didn’t last long!

Thankfully, the Governor, President Biden, and Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (who is Native American) replied “there is no immunity for this stupidity.” So the fight is on and no doubt heads will roll, and they should otherwise we will continue to repeat this over and over again and the destruction costs are horrible and you can never pay for what is permanently gone—especially those who have died in these fires, including the fire-fighters who come from all over the nation to fight this “stupidity.”

Springtime in the Southwest is known for winds and it has been windier than ever before! The NFS has been urged to do controlled burns in late fall/early winter, obviously they think their plans are better…ugh! So yes, it is correct to put the blame where it belongs, but the other side to this game is, well, enjoy this interesting (and comical) true story of a Triple A baseball manager!

The manager of a Triple-A league baseball team who was so disgusted with his center fielder’s performance that he ordered him to the dugout and assumed the position himself. The first ball that came into center field took a bad hop and hit the manager in the mouth. The next one was a high fly ball, which he lost in the glare of the sun—until it bounced off his forehead. The third was a hard line drive that he charged with outstretched arms; that flew between his hands and smacked his eye. Furious, he ran back to the dugout, grabbed the center fielder by the uniform, and shouted, “You’ve got center field so messed up that even I can’t do a thing with it!” I know you’re chuckling, but you get the point. This was what Jesus referred to in his words from Matthew 7:3-5 [NCV]:

“Why do you notice the little piece of dust in your friend’s eye,
but you don’t notice the big piece of wood in your own eye?
How can you say to your friend,
‘Let me take that little piece of dust out of your eye’?
Look at yourself! You still have that big piece of wood in your own eye.
You hypocrite! First, take the wood out of your own eye.
Then you will see clearly to take the dust out of your friend’s eye.”

The manager of the baseball team reminds me of the US Forest Service—it’s always someone else’s fault. How often do we get ourselves in a predicament that we know is our own fault but we don’t want to admit it? Sadly, it’s a game people use daily and for people of faith, what a tragedy that is. That kind of “testimony” dilutes the faith we claim in God, and it certainly doesn’t put God in a good light either!

God asks us, actually that’s not quite right, God demands that we take responsibility for our own actions. We would do well to remember that every time we point a finger, we have three more pointing right back at us! It’s not wrong to blame, but just make sure you are putting the blame on the right person(s). Take a breath and examine yourself before you throw out your blame-claim. Summing this up, that old statement: “A humble heart is the key to maintaining good, godly relationships with others” should be on our minds before we open our mouths—AMEN!