ARE WE RESPONSIBLE?

 Romans 14:12 (NIV)

So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

               It’s not my fault! We have all heard that phrase used to excuse some action that a person has taken. Even though the freely made the choice, they do not want to be held responsible foe that choice. There is always an excuse for why they should be let off the hook. So, are we responsible for our choices? Or can we live our lives however we want, without the fear of facing the consequences?

It seems that we have a love/hate relationship with personal responsibility. As a society we want to hold people responsible for their actions. Many people are quick to make blanket condemnations of others who they determine have violated some standard. The public wants to hold the police responsible for their actions. Scientists want to hold humanity responsible for Climate Change. We all want to hold our leaders responsible for a down economy or rising costs. Yet, when the spotlight is turned on us, we do not want to be held responsible for our own actions.

               When it comes to the issue of personal responsibility, we are all culpable. We are quick to excuse our actions, while at the same time condemning the actions of others. Our actions are understandable, while others actions are inexcusable. We are living examples of Jesus’ parable of the man with the plank in his eye trying to remove the speck from another’s eye.

               Where the issue of personal responsibility really hits a snag is the idea of ultimately being held responsible for how we have lived our lives. Many people have bought into the idea that they can live their life whatever way they want to without being held accountable. When a person takes God out of the equation, then that makes sense, in a way. But we cannot take God out of the equation. The Bible makes it very clear that some day everyone of us will stand before God and give an account for our lives.

               We are created in the image of God, and a part of what that means is that we have the freedom to make choices. We are not robots, but free moral beings. This freedom to make choices is a great asset, but it also come with some qualifiers. We are free to make our own decisions, but we then have to own the consequences of those decisions. If we make wise and godly decisions, then the consequences are positive. If we make unwise or ungodly decisions, then the consequences will be negative. This is a fact that is in play right now. There are natural consequences to every decision we make and we don’t have to wait too long to experience them. Some consequences are immediate, while others take longer to develop, but we don’t have to wait until eternity to find out what they are. If we make bad decisions, we get bad results. If we make good decisions, we get good results. We might forestall the bad results for a while and we may have to wait for the good results to develop, but in the end what we receive will line up with our choices.

               Here is where this thing called personal responsibility comes in. We are quick to take credit for the good things we have done. We are not so quick to take responsibility for the bad things we have done. In fact, we will often do whatever we can to avoid responsibility. We blame others, society, or our genetics. To put it another way, we want the freedom to make mud pies, but we don’t want to have to eat them.

               Throughout the Bible we are told that God is going to hold us responsible for how we have lived our lives. When God called the people of Israel to be His chosen people, He told them clearly that if they followed His laws He would bless them abundantly, but if they disobeyed and went their own way, He would punish them. Ironically, more often than not, Israel chose to go their own way, then complained to God for being unfair to them.

               The Apostle Paul reminds us that a day is coming when we all will have to stand before God and be judged for how we have lived our lives. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5:10 (NIV) We are responsible for the decisions we have made and we will be held accountable. Therefore, we should live within that reality. How we live our lives and the decisions we make are important and they matter to God.

               We live in a world that acts as if there is no personal responsibility. People feel free to do whatever they desire. Few people think about the consequences of their actions. They approach life much like the government approaches the national debt; they just keep trying to push the consequences down the road. But one day the bill will come due.

               As followers of Christ, we have been called to live differently. We are called to take personal responsibility for our actions. When we sin, we own it and ask for forgiveness. We strive to live lives pleasing to God. We strive to make choices that are in line with God’s design for our lives. And we know that ultimately, God will reward us for our efforts.

Matthew 16:27 (NIV)
For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.