Harry Truman once said “The buck stops here.”  A famous quotation which teaches us not to blame the other guy when things go wrong which are of our own making.

Another proverbial statement which is very humorous, but still used today is attributed to children, “The dog ate my homework.”

In more recent times General Colin Powell framed the same meaning in a different way.

“When things go wrong in your command, start wading for the reason in increasingly larger concentric circles around your own desk.”

It’s called taking responsibility for our own actions and stop blaming others for our personal failures.

“For every man shall bear his own burden.”     (Galatians 6:5)

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”

(II Corinthians 5:10)

“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper:  but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”    (Proverbs 28:13)

“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child:  but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”    (I Corinthians 13:11)

“The soul that sinneth, it shall die.  The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son:  the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.”      (Ezekiel 18:20)

“The reason Jerusalem was in decay and disarray was because the buck had been passed too long.  Now Nehemiah was willing to accept the buck and rebuild the city.

Will Rogers, one of America’s favorite humorists, stated that there have been three periods in American history:   Passing the Indian, Passing the Buffalo, and Passing of the Buck.

Why the passing of the Buck?

1. I won’t have to assume the responsibility.
2. I won’t have to be a target for criticism.
3. If it fails, I won’t be blamed.
4. Instead, I can blame the other fellow.
5. If it fails, I can be a post-mortem expert.

Let’s give the buck-passer his due; he is especially talented and quick in the utterance of two sets of four words: “Let George do it”, and if it fails, “It is George’s fault.”

When the buck is passed to George, of course he sometimes fails.  But George gets the recognition, the honor, the role of leadership, the thrill that comes from challenge, the victory over boredom, and the joy of the struggle.

The greatest reason for any person’s tackling the job that falls his lot to perform is that he is a man, which demands responsibility and performance.  He cannot live like a cow or horse that is content to whisk away the flies and eat the grass around the hoofs.”     ~ Leroy Brownlow

“For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.  So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”   (Romans 14:11-12)

Eileen Light

I’ve been sitting in the nursery class with my three month old because I believe it is very important to get children used to going to Bible class as early as possible. Associating God and the Bible with fun and love is the first step in establishing a child’s love for his/her Creator. Occasionally, sitting in an adult class, I may hear something I disagree with. Nothing doctrinal or essential to salvation, but something which would fall under Romans 14:1—“doubtful things.” Many people argue, for some reason, that there is nothing on which brethren may disagree and still be brethren; however, if this were true, there would be no need for Romans 14. In any case, I was surprised to find something in the nursery class which was contrary to what I believed!

The nursery teacher sang about the chicken being made on the fifth day. I thought about it, and realized that, by our distinction, a chicken is a bird (though it does not fly). The Bible says that birds and fish were made on the fifth day. Then, animals and man were made on the sixth day. To my understanding, the Bible defines God’s view of creatures in Genesis 1 three times:
• Genesis1:21—“So God created 1) great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, 2) and every winged bird according to its kind…” verse 25: “And God made 3) the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind…”
• Genesis 1:26—“…let [man] have dominion over the 1) fish of the sea, 2) over the birds of the air, and 3) over the cattle, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.
• Genesis 1:28—“…have dominion over 1) the fish of the sea, 2) over the birds of the air, and 3) over every living thing that moves on the earth.
By this distinction, God defined everything that lives under water as “fish,” everything that flies in the air as “birds” and everything else as “beasts” and “creeping things” which “move on the earth.”

Now, I am not writing this to debate whether or not God made chickens on the fifth or sixth day, nor do I think people should stop teaching one way or the other because, in the end, it doesn’t ultimately matter whether chickens were made on the fifth or sixth day (“doubtful things”). I am writing this because I think it serves as a good reminder that we human beings, who think we’re so smart with all of our advanced sciences, don’t know everything!

I’ve heard people argue that Jonah could not possibly have been swallowed by a whale because the Bible says it was a big fish and a whale is not a fish, it’s a mammal. The Bible doesn’t use the word mammal! Does this mean it is a type of creature that God did not create? How silly. In this is the assumption that God defines things how we define things. He made fish, birds, beasts and creeping things.

I am thinking of I Corinthians 3:18-21a here: “Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He catches the wise in their own craftiness (cf. Job 5:13) and again, The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile (cf. Psalm 94:11). Therefore let no one boast in men.”

I consider myself a pretty smart person, but every now and then, I need a dose of remembering that I don’t know everything! All the knowledge given to us in the Bible “…is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (II Timothy 3:16-17). We should all remember that the Bible is not meant to be an all-inclusive book of knowledge about everything on Earth. It has a purpose. Its purpose is for our learning (Romans 15:4), for our belief (John 20:31), and for our salvation (John 3:16). As long as we remember to keep the Bible within these self-indicated confines, we will remember that complete knowledge is beyond us; but, it is not beyond the God whom we serve. God knows when he made the chicken, and He knows what swallowed Jonah; it really isn’t important for Little Miss Me to know.

-Tricia Reno