His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? — John 9:2.
Who sinned? Who’s at fault? Who’s to blame? Questions we hear everyday from newscasters, reporters, members of the legislature, and too many of us ordinary people. It might be okay if the purpose of the questions were to be to help prevent reoccurrence, but way too often the blame questions are posed to judge and condemn. The quicker the better.
We hear too often that someone is poor because they are lazy, he or she is uneducated because of poor teachers, and even that someone is evil simply because of their skin color. We search for simple justifications for our judgment ignoring the complexities of life.
In Jesus’s day people believed that blindness was the result of God punishing someone for his or her sins. He quickly rejects that belief by saying, “Neither this man or his parents sinned.” He is telling us all to quit searching for blame or fault. Wouldn’t a better question to ask be, “How can I help?”
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