Is it just me, or is the phrase "that's on me" becoming more common?
A football manager is interviewed after a defeat and admits that he got his tactics wrong. "Thats on me", he says. In her recently released memoir, Nicola Sturgeon discusses her failure to narrow the attainment gap between rich and poor pupils as she committed to do in 2015. "I did not succeed in all that I set out to do on school education — and that is on me"
It's a way of saying: "I'll take the blame". "You don't need to look for anyone else to criticise — the fault is mine, and mine alone". It’s surely to be applauded as a humble acknowledgement of fault. In a world where people seek to blame almost anyone or anything else for their own failures, it can be refreshing to hear a politician come out and say "it's my fault — that's on me". If you've listened to hundreds of interviews with football managers and heard them blame injuries, referees, weather conditions, fixture pile-ups — even the colour of the kit the players were wearing — it's refreshing to hear one hold his hands up and admit that he got something wrong. When, rather than throwing his players under the bus, he will take the hit and say "that's on me".
Of course, the cynic might argue that it's simply a self-serving way of someone getting ahead of the criticism that they know is coming anyway. Particularly if the manager obviously got his tactics wrong, or the politician ignored advice. Overall though, it's surely a positive trend. There's such a failure to accept fault in our society, that it's just a nice change when someone holds their hands up and says "that's on me".
The phrase also strikes me as a way to explain the Christian gospel to those who are unfamiliar with it. The Bible contains no shortage of people who are keen to shift the blame. In the aftermath of the very first sin — eating the forbidden fruit — Adam blames Eve (and by implication God), and Eve blames Satan. Moses's brother Aaron explains his sin in making a golden calf for the people to worship by saying "I threw [gold] into the fire and out came this calf". Saul, Israel's first king, tries to justify offering an unlawful sacrifice by blaming the prophet Samuel for being late. These key figures in biblical history had the opportunity to hold up their hands and say "that's on me". But they didn't — because it is in our nature to try to shift the blame.
However the Bible also tells us of someone who never had any need to hold his hands up and acknowledge his guilt — because he had none. Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man (without ceasing to be God). But whereas everyone who had ever lived up until that point — even the best of men — had given in to temptation many times, he never did. He "knew no sin" (2 Corinthians 5:21). He was "in every way tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15).
How did the world react to someone so pure? We put him to death. His brilliant purity showed up our impurity. And yet Jesus' death on the cross wasn't a tragic accident, it was the very reason he came. He came both to live and to die in our place. At the cross he took our sins on himself and effectively said to his Father "that's on me". "Don't hold their sin against them — punish me instead". On the cross he became liable for the guilt of all who would ever put their trust in him.
Many seek to deny their guilt. And it's certainly true that we often suffer at the hands of others. We are sinned against — but according to the Scriptures, we are also sinners: "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Yet there is hope. The Book of Proverbs warns: "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy." Some seek to atone for their guilt themselves — through acts of charity, church involvement, etc. But if we could atone for our own sin, Jesus wouldn't have needed to come. Rather, the good news of the gospel is that on the cross Jesus took on himself all our guilt and shame. On the cross, he said of even our worst actions: "That's on me". And he promises that whoever comes to him he will never cast out.
Published in the Stranraer & Wigtownshire Free Press, 11th September 2025