Many assign blame for the crisis and resulting panic to nations, media, politicians, and elites through an ongoing blame game in news and conversations. This outward criticism diverts from inward examination of personal weaknesses, as individuals may be ground zero due to their carnality and embrace of the world's spirit, prompting God's corrective humbling.

At the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development, a clear consensus emerged that America and Britain bear primary responsibility for the world's environmental degradation, economic disparities, and other global problems. Leaders from multiple nations echoed this charge, asserting that these two countries possess disproportionate wealth and technology yet contribute excessively to planetary ills while failing to share resources equitably with poorer populations. Specific accusations targeted Britain for colonial legacies that created land disputes and racial divisions in southern Africa, with calls for agrarian reforms to address these imbalances, and extended the blame to the United States as the current dominant economic and military power. This pattern of recrimination overlooks the extensive aid, infrastructure support, and historical interventions provided by these nations, including food, medicine, and assistance during crises. The material connects this hostility to biblical prophecy by identifying the United States and Britain as the modern descendants of Manasseh and Ephraim, the sons of Joseph, who were foretold to become great and prosperous nations. In Genesis 49, the description of archers bitterly grieving Joseph through repeated, distant attacks aligns with the envious and provocative criticisms directed at these nations today. Such blaming is presented as an expected outcome of human nature, yet one that foreshadows escalating opposition, as indicated in Psalm 83, where enemies conspire to eliminate the name of Israel entirely. This development underscores the need to recognize these dynamics as the end times approach.

People on a national radio talk show placed blame for rising immorality on others rather than themselves. A young author argued that former President Bill Clinton's immoral conduct in office had so shaped an entire generation that the youth bore no responsibility for their own immoral lives. A caller added that parents shared fault for failing to teach morality or demand Clinton's removal after his sexual assaults. A black woman caller asserted that Democratic leadership for three generations had deliberately promoted single-parent welfare status among blacks through programs available only to unmarried parents, thereby making immorality a permanent way of life in that community and fixing blame on the Democrats. A Democratic caller then attributed increased immorality to the Reagan administration's encouragement of greed and material gain at any cost during the 1980s. These arguments share the common thread that hardly anyone accepts personal responsibility for his own actions. Although leaders have deceived the nation by calling evil good, individuals retain responsibility to resist such reasoning and to behave rightly. The prophets Isaiah and Malachi recorded that God is wearied by words that declare everyone who does evil to be good in His sight. Most people refuse to acknowledge that their sins are committed personally by them and that penalties must be paid, as seen in the spread of AIDS across Africa largely through sexual immorality. The root cause lies in the fact that few truly fear and reverence God. Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. King Solomon observed that it will nevertheless be well with those who fear God. Immoral behavior results from a choice made by each individual, and no other human being can choose that behavior. Each person decides whether to fear God, and when that fear is present it will be well with him.

Blaming others emerges as a natural extension of self-justification, the second deterrent to overcoming sin discussed after self-deception. Once a person begins stripping away self-deception and honestly compares himself to God's perfect Word, he dislikes what he sees and instinctively seeks to excuse his behavior, casting wrongdoing as good or at least less severe than it appears. This tendency to shift blame is as old as humanity itself, beginning with Adam and Eve, who immediately blamed each other and even the serpent when confronted with their sin, and continuing through figures like Cain and Ananias and Sapphira. As Herbert W. Armstrong observed, the hardest thing for a human being to do is admit he is wrong, and people will construct elaborate justifications rather than simply own their faults. Scripture recognizes this pattern extensively. Solomon describes people blaming external circumstances, even weather or wild beasts, for failing to fulfill responsibilities, warning that such self-justification can ultimately destroy a person. Because punishment for sin is not always immediate, human nature becomes emboldened to rationalize continued wrongdoing. This excuse-making takes many familiar forms: claiming something was too hard, blaming lack of time, insisting one tried, denying fault, or even attributing behavior to the Devil, one's upbringing, or inadequate teaching. Christ's parables of the Minas and the Talents demonstrate that such excuses do not impress Him; the servant who justified his inaction was called wicked and lazy, since judgment is based on works and fruit, not intentions or justifications. This pattern of blame extends generationally, as parents who excuse their own sins model the same rationalizations for their children, sometimes with devastating national consequences, as seen in the kings of Judah. Modern society mirrors this by excusing even terrible crimes through claims like temporary insanity, which may succeed in human courts but not before God. A particularly subtle form of blame-shifting involves hiding behind universal human sinfulness, declaring "I'm just human" or "all have sinned," as a way to avoid admitting specific personal faults. Though it is true all have sinned and fall short of God's glory, God is not interested in collective excuses but in individual repentance, overcoming, and growth. Ultimately, self-justification gains nothing, since the penalty for sin remains death; only the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ can truly justify a person before God. David provides the definitive contrast to blame-shifting. Though he could have excused his adultery and murder through temptation or royal privilege, when Nathan exposed his sin, David offered no further excuses. Instead, he bitterly repented, asked God to cleanse and wash him, and dedicated himself fully to serving God rather than himself. His example demonstrates the proper response to sin: abandoning blame entirely, embracing genuine repentance, and pursuing the Kingdom of God with fear and trembling.

Richard Ritenbaugh acknowledges that young people display a proclivity to accept socialism, oblivious to the horrendous damage socialist experiments have brought to the world. Politicians of the ilk of Bernie Sanders have fomented hatred toward capitalism by comparing it to an imaginary utopia. Economist Walter Williams insists that the free market, with all its warts, is far superior to collectivism at protecting people from poverty. Poverty is not usually an economic issue but stems from ethical and moral deficits. Socialism simply transfers wealth to the leaders of a government, leaving most of the citizenry in greater poverty. Williams, in his article, "Do These Four Things to Avoid Poverty," suggests that a young person, to keep his nose above poverty or failure, needs to (1.) complete high school, (2.) get a job, (3.) get married before having children, and (4.) be a law-abiding citizen. Poverty is self-caused—not the result of society, bad laws or systemic bigotry. Young people who drop out of school, take drugs, and fornicate set themselves up for failure. The law is no problem for those who obey it, but it will break those who break it, making it difficult to rebound.