“Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him” Judge 11:3

Jephthah was born to a harlot, probably out of an act of infidelity from his father who had others sons with his legitimate wife. As an illegitimate son, Jephthah’s half-brothers did not want to share with him their father’s heritage. Jephthah was thus forced to leave his family and find an asylum in an alien land.

Besides being rejected by his family, I imagine what Jephthah must have suffered as stigmatization and finger-pointing from his age and playmates. And yet, he did not commit any sin of his own. He was rather paying for a sin that his father committed. Let this serve as a warning to us anytime we are in front of the temptation to sin: some sins will not only affect us directly immediately, but they could also lay the foundation of trouble for our children and our family. And I bet this is not the type of legacy we want to leave.

Having to suffer that kind of rejection at that tender age, just like many today, Jephthah could have sat down in a corner narrating to any idle person in quest of a sensational story how his father, who was supposed to help him make it in life has undermined his future. He could have taken excuse of that to become a beggar or, worse still, become a gangster and design a plan to retaliate against his father and his brothers.

However, _instead of pitying himself and dreading the fact that he is an illegitimate son, Jephthah tried to compensate by accepting his weakness and building his strengths. He has become a mighty warrior and a man of valor._ Most people recognize his strengths to the point that they look to him as their leader more than just a kid from a prostitute mother.

Today, people in less complicated situations would blame heavens and earth, their parents and the church, the government and circumstances. But they hardly ever blame themselves. If there is only one thing the blame game achieves, it is to make you stagnate or even worsen one’s conditions. The blame game is simply useless for, the same situation you are blaming life for, somebody else went through it, took it as a personal challenge and achieved outstanding success out of it. From today, stop blaming others and take your life in hands.