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Accepting Responsibility
Prevalent in society today is an attitude of irresponsibility exhibited by
increased crime, glorification of sin throughout advertisements, television,
etc., and the common practice of white-washing sin by calling it some kind of
disorder or disease. Typical of this attitude is a phrase (resurrected from the
70's) flippantly used by many: "The devil made me do it." While these words may
not be confessed, all the excuses and evasive behavior sends the message: "It
wasn't my fault."
We need to sound the alarm because the devil is in the process of devouring us
and we are refusing to recognize it. We must stand up and accept responsibility
for our thoughts, our feelings and our actions. No one else is responsible; not
the devil, not our friends, nor our neighbors, our families and definitely not
our circumstances (as some would have us believe). What each and every
individual thinks, feels or does is his or her responsibility. It's a result of
free choice.
Actions are a result of our thoughts. Matt. 15:19 warns of the dark side and
Philippians 4:8 encourages us to fill our hearts with lovely, pure, righteous
and noble things. Why? Very simply, if we think about wicked things, we run
great risk of eventual involvement in those wicked deeds. In contrast, if we
fill our hearts with truth, the results can only be the fruit of the Spirit
(Gal. 5:22-23).
For instance, 2 Pet. 3:18 commands us to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ." Whose responsibility is that? Is it the
preacher's job to get us to grow? Is it our parent's task to force us to grow?
Is it the responsibility of our brothers and sisters to somehow make us improve?
The elders are to watch, oversee and feed, but are they charged to make us be
what we ought to be? The plain truth is: If I grow in the grace and knowledge of
our Lord and
Savior, it's because I have established that goal in my life and I set about the
task of achieving it regardless of what anyone around me does or does not do. I
am ultimately responsible for me.
Consider Joseph. He needed only God to do right. He had no family to support
him. His only family sold him into slavery. Imagine the feeling he must have
endured. Joseph could have given in to Potiphar's wife and easily (in today's
climate) blamed his family circumstances or past. Being sold into slavery by
your own brothers could have a serious effect on your "self-esteem" and
stability. Circumstances are just that: Circumstances! In no way do they ever
justify violating God's laws.
Women and men alike today cry out and bemoan their childhood, or their economic
condition, or their family relationships and they all claim that because of
these circumstances they can't be what they ought to be. Nonsense. Such
arrogance. God has promised us that He would never allow us to be tempted beyond
that which we're capable of dealing with (1 Cor. 10:13). Granted, it is more
difficult to do what's right under certain circumstances, but it's not
impossible and to think so is the
same as calling God a liar.
When Jesus was 12 he hurried off to the temple to be about His Father's
business. At any early age he recognized his responsibility and dealt with it.
Do you think his friends encouraged him? It is doubtful the other boys had such
concerns at all. If they were like some kids today, they probably ridiculed him.
I see my brother's and sister's in Christ half-heartedly attend worship service.
Always an excuse for not being there on Sunday night and Wednesday night, even
Sunday morning Bible classes. Although attendance is not the only measure of
someone's faithfulness, it exhibits a level of interest or lack of interest in
spiritual matters. And it is an individual responsibility, either to be gladly
accepted or evaded.
Some will declare: "I just don't get anything out of worship service or Bible
class. They just don't provide what I need." With all due kindness, sin is our
problem; it is our only problem and the only solution is Jesus Christ and His
message. If we're not getting anything out of services, it may be we are not
putting anything into them. Again, I am responsible for making the services of
the Lord's church meaningful to me. If I'm not understanding, I need to seek the
help to understand.
If I'm having trouble in my life, I need to search out solutions. I cannot
expect others to do it for me; they can help, only as I accept my own
responsibility.
The Scriptures are very clear as to who will be held accountable for my actions.
Ezekiel 18:20 declares "the soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the
guilt of the father nor the father the guilt of the son. The righteousness of
the righteous shall be upon himself and the wickedness of the wicked shall be
upon himself." 2 Cor. 5:10 states, "... we must all appear before the judgment
seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according
to what he has
done, whether good or bad." The next time we try to blame someone or something
else for not getting everything we want out of a lesson from the Word of God,
let's take a minute and see what we can do to make a difference instead of just
blaming the preacher or someone else. If truth is being taught, it is the
responsibility of the hearer to take it and use it.
Years ago we had a friend who was overweight. She finally agreed to enter a
medical clinic to get help for the condition. The obesity was not due to a
physical problem, but rather emotional. During the course of treatment, the
counselors undermined her faith in God and she eventually became an agnostic.
She lost weight but she also allowed others to convince her that religion was
the root of her problems and she gave up her faith in the Lord. It would be easy
to blame the counselors for her denial of God (and they do share blame). But
ultimately, my friend was to blame. She made some wrong choices because she
allowed herself to believe the lies of the counselors rather than trusting in
the Lord and obeying Him.
We need to wake up. We need to quit blaming our actions, thoughts and feelings
on someone or something else. If I'm not growing it's because I'm not doing the
things growth requires. If I'm not learning, its because I'm not studying. If I
feel abandoned by God, its because I've separated myself from Him. If I feel
empty, its because I've not allowed God to fill my life with meaning. If I feel
lonely, its because I won't allow God to hold my hand and lift me up. I must
work out my own
salvation with fear and trembling and only God can help me do that. Friends and
family, brothers and sisters in Christ can assist me but whether I have their
help or not, I am ultimately responsible for all that I think, all that I feel
and all that I do.
Submitted By Warren E. Berkley
The Final Page
Guest Editorial . . . By Paula Berkley
From Expository Files 3.12; December 1996
