All right, I admit it! I’m not one bit ashamed! I’m a true-blue fan of Judge Judy. Most mornings, while I slave away on my Moccodies II (my Macintosh computer) keyboard, I listen to Judge Judy in the background. Some people work best in total silence; I do my best stuff with noise in the background. In addition, my noise helps block out the raucous, outrageous, pounding music that emanates from the house across the street.

I like her style. I like her values. I like her down-to-earth advice that often goes beyond just expounding a legal opinion. She tries to bring families and close friends back together when possible.

In a recent case, a young man came before the bench. He was renting a room from a grandmotherly looking woman. Because he’d neglected to pay some past telephone bills, he was unable to get a phone in his own name. She put the phone in her name in order to help him out. The phone was installed in his room in her home.

The first phone bill was for more than $1,000. He refused the pay the bill. Bad mistake on his part. She took him to Judge Judy’s court. There were lots of calls to 900 numbers, particularly to sexually oriented services. At one point, Judge Judy had the young man look at the kindly lady. She said, “Look at this lady and tell me if you can possibly imagine her coming into your room and calling these sexually explicit numbers.” He admitted that, in his wildest imagination, he couldn’t imagine her making those calls.

Lacking any other ammunition, he told Judge Judy that it might have been his former roommate who made the calls. Judge Judy very quickly shot down his “trial” balloon. She forced him to admit that the phone was his. She pointed out that what happened with his phone was his responsibility. Then, she looked at her bailiff, a tall, muscular, good looking man. She asked him if he’d ever heard the term, SODDI. He grinned and joined her saying, “Some Other Dude Did It”. Judge Judy explained that she learned that term when she was a sitting judge in Manhattan for more than 20 years.

There are all kinds of character flaws. I couldn’t possibly address all of them in this short space. One of worst, in my opinion, is the inability many have to take responsibility for their own actions. They not only deny their own culpability, but try to hang the offense on someone else.

One of the first things any baby learns once able to talk even a little bit is, “I didn’t do it.” Sometimes it comes out, “He/she did it.” A slight variation is, “Nobody did it.” Bil Keane in his long-running cartoon, “Family Circus”, focuses on this foible maybe once a year. Their are ghost-like creatures floating in the air above the children. They are named “Nobody”, “Someone Else”, “Not Me”, etc.

Yessirree-a-roola! It’s a human tendency to avoid guilt and punishment by trying to hang the responsibility on someone else’s nose!

In Joshua 7:20 we have this confession, “Achan replied, ‘It is true! I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I have done…'”

In 1 Sam. 15:24, Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the LORD’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them.”

David, in II Sam. 12:13 “…said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the LORD.’ Nathan replied, ‘The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.'”

In the New Testament, we read the story of the betrayal of Jesus by one of His disciples, Judas. In Matthew 27:4, Judas states, “‘I have sinned,’ he said, ‘for I have betrayed innocent blood.’ ‘What is that to us?’ they replied. ‘That’s your responsibility.'” Shortly after this statement, Judas went out and hanged himself.

Admitting that we’ve sinned doesn’t always keep us from suffering consequences. Achan and his entire family were stoned. Their family became a by-word to the Jewish people.

However, David’s life was spared. Please note, however, that David paid quite a price in heartache and sadness because of his sins.

In recent weeks, a devout, truly born again believer, Karla Faye Tucker, was put to death by the State of Texas even though she’d long ago repented and taken responsibility for her sins.

What Are The Life Lessons?

• All of us sin, do wrong, make mistakes, stumble, err, or whatever term you care to choose.
• We then have to make a choice: Take Responsibility or Pass The Buck.
• Our decision should never be based on whether or not accepting responsibility will keep us from discipline or punishment.
• Every time we try to evade responsibility by attempting to “pass it on”, we get better at it.
• God is the ultimate, all-knowing, all-seeing judge of our lives.
• There is a real law in God’s courtroom — the law of sowing and reaping. When we violate that law, we do pay — one way or another!
• We can’t fool Him by claiming, “Some Other Dude Did It!”

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