The Lost Art of Taking Responsibility

Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Reading: Nehemiah 9:32-37
Reflection: When I was a boy I had a difficult time taking responsibility for my own actions. I would often blame by siblings for things that I had done. I would blame friends or neighbors to cover my faults. I would blame situations, circumstances or even my parents for my own failures. Of course, this does not make me particularly unusual. This is what many people do when they are mere children. However, one of the signs that we have moved beyond childhood to adulthood is the ability to take ownership of one's conduct and seek to grow through errors. Once a person understands this reality, they are ready to be entrusted with important jobs. We see this in the case of Nehemiah within this passage. Notice that Nehemiah openly admits that God has always been just in his actions while he and his people have been unfaithful. He recognizes that they have failed in the past and are therefore now enslaved within the land that was supposed to bring them freedom. However, the fact that he openly admits this reality shows that he is ready to be trusted to lead this people back into the land. Nehemiah will be entrusted with leadership because he can take responsibility for his actions rather than blaming others. What about you? Are you able to admit when you are wrong, or are you always blaming something else for your situation. If you want to move forward in a healthy way, you can't start with denial of personal responsibility. So, while it is a lost art in our day, let's learn to accept responsibility for what we have done and in this way demonstrate that we are ready to be entrusted with real leadership.