27 June 2005 Devotion for Today “Sour Grapes” Ezekiel 18:1-4
Dr. Ravi Zacharias once gave this quotation from a poem as he introduced one of his riveting messages. It is an excellent commentary for the times we live in: “At three I had the sense of ambivalence toward my brothers; and so it follows naturally- I poisoned all my lovers. But I’m so happy I have learned the lesson this has taught: everything I do that’s wrong is someone else’s fault.” Dr. Zacharias gave this quote to illustrate the attitude of society in the twenty-first century that the reason we are the way we are is because our parents made us this way and therefore we ought not to be accountable. Educators and sociologists have bought in to this idea- that we are products of our environment and that if we commit a crime, then it is the fault of societal pressures and not the individual. If a child makes poor grades in school, it is the fault of his or her learning environment, poor teachers, disinterested parents, and a whole host of conspiring factors against this student. The student cannot be faulted if he or she drops out of high school. It may be true that you and I were born into a world that we could not help, and we certainly have no control over our parentage, our income or status level we found ourselves in, etc. But we certainly do have control over what we do with what or whom we have been given.
Ezekiel would have had equal disdain for the attitude expressed in the quotation, or at least as much as he found in a popular proverb quoted by hapless individuals of Israelite society in his day: “What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: ‘the fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge?’ As I live,” says the Lord God, “you shall no longer use this proverb in
The prophet proposes from God that individual accountability is the answer for why man has failed. He cannot blame his parents or grandparents. He is responsible for what he does even if he was born that way. Everyone is accountable for his or her own sins, and will experience eternal death and separation from God if they die in their sins apart from faith in God through Jesus Christ. We can no longer point to the fact that our mother was an alcoholic or if our father beat us. Granted, their dysfunction might point to why we have certain quirks and irrationalities, but it does not explain why we should remain as we are or seek to perpetrate our pain upon others. Sour grapes is no excuse. Through the power of Jesus Christ we have the ability now to overcome the worst that the world can give us and still bring glory to God and be an example and testimony to others to what God and His grace can do.
Have a blessed day.
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