RESPONSIBILITY
This word
is often defined in reference to responsibility as being something that is
given to an individual. As we can see
with the examples of parents giving responsibility to children or an employer
who gives additional responsibility to a subordinate. There is more to
responsibility than that. There must be
a move to understand that responsibility must be taken upon oneself.
Definition:
Merriam-Webster
defines responsibility as: “The quality
or state of being responsible: such as a moral, legal, or mental accountability. RELIABILITY, TRUSTWORTHINESS”
Cambridge
Dictionary defines the word as: “Good judgment and the ability to act correctly and
make decisions on your own.”
Responsibility
as we see it today
There are
many examples in our world today of people not willing to take on
responsibility for their actions. Look at the warning labels that companies
must place on cleaning products to state that eating the product may cause
harm. There was the lawsuit against a
restaurant chain for coffee being “too hot”. At some point, humans decided to
throw out their responsibility for personal actions taken. People began to believe that there was
nothing to take responsibility for. The
consequences of actions taken could be left as the fault of others. It got easier to hire a lawyer to sue than to
acknowledge one’s own simple stupidity.
There was a
small story in the news as this was being composed. Public libraries in a particular U.S.
Media takes
the lead in emphasizing responsibility is not important. Often advertisements
for credit card companies attempt to get more clients by promising customers:
“Don’t feel guilty, it’s not your fault you are in debt….get our card”. It is
an individual’s choice to keep purchasing on credit. If it is done then
responsibility for that debt is that of the borrower. It is the borrower’s
fault to be in debt!
Have
things changed?
It may come
as a surprise to many to see how often this topic is discussed in
scripture. Scripture has many examples
of individuals attempting to shift responsibility for the actions they took and
blame the guilt of those consequences on someone else.
The Blame
Game Club started all the way back at the beginning after creation. Here is a list of members of this club.
Adam blamed
Eve and indirectly God for giving the woman to him - Genesis 3:12
Eve blamed
the serpent for making her taste the fruit - Genesis 3:13
Sarah
blames Abram for having a child with a handmaid that Sarah herself gave him –
Genesis 16:5
Aaron
blamed it on the entire Israelite people for HIS decision to build the idol -
Exodus 32:22
Saul blamed
the people for his own disobedience to following God’s directives – 1 Samuel
15:20
It does not
end there. Jump to the New Testament
Gospels and find:
Pilate
believed the simple act of washing his hands dissolved him of any
responsibility in the death of “a just man”.
He found Jesus innocent but yet condemned Him! The crowd on the other hand acknowledged
that they were accepting the responsibility for his death!
Peter
denied the Lord and did not accept responsibility of being a follower of
Christ. However, he later accepted the
fact that he denied the Lord and accepted responsibility for doing so
and took on himself leadership in the upper room. In contrast, Judas could not accept
responsibility for his deed and hung himself.
Responsibility
Rewarded
The Bible
deals with responsibility when it addresses the sin of man and man’s rewards for
what he has done.
Proverbs
12:14 “The recompence of a man’s hands shall be rendered unto him.”
Isaiah 3:11
“Woe unto the wicked! It shall be ill
with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.”
Isaiah 5:15
“The mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled…”
Jeremiah 32:19
“…to give everyone according to his
ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.”
Galatians
6:7 “...whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
1
Corinthians 3:8 “…every man shall receive
his own reward, according to his own labor.”
A burden or a duty
Galatians
6:2-5 “Bear ye one anothers burdens….let
every man prove his own work….every man shall bear his own burden.”
Contradiction?
No, we are to go out of our way to help make the life of others easier, but
while doing so, we need to be continually testing what we ourselves are
doing. Are we doing all we can do? Are we doing the best we can so that we do
not end in a position where we need to have help from someone else to carry our
burden.
Jesus
“shouldered” the burden of the cross. He
took on the responsibility of a death on Calvary
for us. If he could do that, what small
thing is it for his children to take upon themselves responsibility for their actions?
(continued on Part 3) (All scripture King James unless noted)
