Whatever Happened to Personal Responsibility?

“If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9)

One of the biggest problems that we have in our society today is a lack of personal responsibility. Nobody is ever wrong, and when they do make mistakes, there is always an excuse.  The danger that I see in this mindset is that if there is one thing the Bible teaches, if there is one thing that God will demand of each one of us, it is Personal Responsibility.

 

Part of growing up is taking responsibility for oneself.  We start as infants with no personal responsibility whatsoever, everything that we need done is done for us.  As we progress through the various stages of childhood, we take on more and more responsibility.  We learn to tie our own shoes, clean our own rooms, and turn in our own homework.  We learn that responsibility has its rewards, and irresponsibility has other less-than-desirable effects.  In many ways, the difference between a child and a man is his willingness to take personal responsibility for his actions.  As Paul says, “When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.” (1 Corinthians 13:11)

Whatever happened to personal responsibility?  As 1 John 1:8 shows us, God holds each of us accountable for our own sins.  It's easier to blame it on someone else.  Then we don't have to do anything about it, and who knows, maybe we can even earn a few bucks on the whole deal!

But one thing we can't do that way, and that is restore our relationship with God.

As verse 9 reminds us, we also need to confess our sins.  But God doesn't give us a carte blanche forgiveness policy.  We have to truly be repentant.  Sometimes we are sorry for being caught, or sorry for the consequences of our sins.  But are we truly sorry that we sinned against God or hurt someone?

My point today is to drive home the fact that we can’t blame anyone but ourselves for our actions. Blaming others is not new to the human experience.  In the Garden of Eden after sinning, Adam blamed his sin on “that woman.”  But the reality is, God is not interested in your excuses.  Trying to blame Eve did not get Adam off the hook for his actions, and making excuses won’t get you off the hook for your actions!

If we are going to mature as Christians, we need to accept our own responsibility for our sins and mistakes.  Not only is it the godly thing to do; it's for our own good.  Playing the blame game is counterproductive to problem-solving.  The Old Testament prophet Ezekiel reminded the Jews of his day that, “The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him.” (Ezekiel 18:20)  We cannot inherit the sins or righteousness of others.  Each one will be righteous before God because of his own righteousness or wicked because of his own wickedness.

When this brief life is over and we stand before God, He is not going to be interested in any excuses.  On that day, God will hold each of us personally responsible for our life.  I pray today that you stop looking for ways to excuse your choices and actions, and begin accepting responsibility for what you have done. 

God will honor you for taking personal responsibility for your actions.

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