Responsibility. Everybody likes the credibility that comes with having responsibility. Few people actually want the responsibility itself. Responsibility is demanding, time consuming, expecting. Responsibility implies accountability. And the truth is that as a society we are less and less accepting of responsibility. People are refusing responsibility in their work, in their homes, in their friendships, and people are particularly refusing responsibility in their spiritual obligations to those around us.
But you cannot discount the fact that God has given His people some very significant responsibilities. Responsibilities that we simply cannot afford to avoid. Think about a few of those responsibilities the New Testament talks about.
- Christians have the responsibility to evangelize the world. The very last words Jesus ever spoke to His apostles before He went back to heaven dealt with the ongoing fulfillment of His primary purpose. He articulated that purpose as being “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10) and with His coming departure He delegated that purpose to them. “…and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
- Christians have the responsibility to train and discipline their children. If Bible history has taught us anything it is the fact that total apostasy is always but one generation away if parents do not accept this responsibility. Throughout the Old Testament Israel was faced with periods of time when entire generations abandoned God (i.e., the book of Judges). And while some of the problem might have been rebellion in the hearts of the children there can be little doubt that if each set of parents had accepted Moses’ instruction in Deuteronomy 6:4ff that they would have faced but a fraction of their problems. Sometimes we can become so active in restricting certain things, activities, or associations from our children’s lives that we forget to give them what they need the most – our personal attention, encouragement, and instruction. We simply cannot cast this burden on anyone else’s shoulders.
- Christians have the responsibility to help others. I have to admit, this is one area where I have to guard myself as much as anybody else from becoming too cynical. There are so many stereotypes and experiences that we hold in 21stcentury American society that can causes us to be immediately skeptical anytime anybody expresses any need. And there is an obvious sense in which we should be good stewards and protective of ourselves and the interests of God and His church, but at the same time God expects us to be loving and generous to those around us. You see this clearly displayed in Jesus’ life and ministry and you see the same expectation placed upon us in different passages (Galatians 6:10; James 2:15-17, etc.). But the reason God’s children so be so committed to doing good to others is not just in the opportunity to do good itself. It is in the understanding that what good we do that we do to reflect God’s love to a world that is desperate to experience it.
I know these three things I’ve mentioned are nothing new. They are some of the most fundamental responsibilities that we have. But I’m afraid that sometimes those things with which we are most familiar are often those things that are the most neglected. I think that is true in each of these areas and so many others that I could mention. But if we fail in these responsibilities or avoid them altogether then we have abandoned the mission of the church and the hope that is intended to carry our world toward eternity.
-Andy