Recognize that you are your own worst enemy. If you can acknowledge this truth, you’ll make greater progress in your growth in grace.

As a pastor I regularly listened to people give all sorts of reasons and excuses for their sinful conduct. As a parent, I have listened to my children blame everyone else for their sin. In one sense, this is nothing new. Blame shifting first appeared in the Garden of Eden on the heels of Adam and Eve’s sin. Adam blamed God for giving him Eve: “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate” (Gen. 3:12). And Eve blamed the serpent: “The serpent deceive me, and I ate” (Gen. 3:13). When it comes to owning our sins, we are quick to look everywhere else except for the person staring us back in the mirror.

While others can certainly contribute to our sin, at the end of the day, we only have ourselves to blame. James explains the anatomy of sin in the following manner: “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one” (James 1:13).

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