Today is kind of a big day for me. It’s my 19th
birthday. As the years have passed and I have grown, I have become more and
more aware of my actions and words and how they affect others. What I say and
what I do affects how people look at me. Then I began to think; what do people
think when they see me? A little girl trapped in an adult’s body? Or a woman
ready to face the unexpected?
What is maturity? Is
there a standard or do we just guess by how “adult” someone is? The answer came
to me by way of a friend. We got together a couple of months ago to shop and
chat. Being a few years older then I, I expected her to be somewhat
“sophisticated”. Was I in for a big surprise. She was the sweetest person I
have ever met. She was very caring and kind and would strike up conversations
with complete strangers. She just struck me as a little girl with a big
heart…but who knew exactly what she was doing.
After much thought on the subject (and my day shopping) I
came to the conclusion that maturity had to do mainly with responsibility.
Responsibility: a form of trustworthiness; the trait of
being answerable to someone for something or being responsible for one's
conduct.
As I grew older, I was given more and more things I was
expected to do, like chores. It was now my responsibility to make sure that
shower was cleaned, the dishes were done, and my bed was made. If the shower
was not cleaned, I was then answerable to my mother for my poor work. I was
pretty good with fulfilling my obligations and finishing my chores, but as I
got older, I began to forget how important responsibility was. I began to lag in
my responsibilities…which meant privileges were revoked. This was to teach me
what would happen in real life if I try to avoid doing what must be done; I
will lose things that are important to me. If I skip work, I will lose my job.
If I ignore my family, I will lose them. If I’m don’t take care of my money, I
will spiral downward into debt. Skimping on responsibility isn’t fun for
anybody. Problems arise and so do ill-will, as the story, “Anybody, Nobody,
Somebody and Everybody”;
An important job had to be done and Everybody was sure
that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.
Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought
that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It
ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have
done. (Thought Renewal, BlogSpot)
Too often, we shirk our duties in the hopes that somebody
will do it for us. Ever since the beginning of time, we have thrown off the
cloak of responsibility and blamed someone else for our mistakes.
Genesis 3:12-13, “And the man said, The woman whom though
gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God
said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The
serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.”(KJV)
Ever since the beginning, we have been pointing fingers at
others, hoping people will take our word for it. But nothing has ever come of
it except trouble.
Genesis 3:16-19, “Unto the woman he said, I will greatly
multiply thy sorrow and they conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth
children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast harkened unto the voice of they wife,
and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not
eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt though eat of it
all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to
thee; and though shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face
shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou
taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”(KJV)
God does no take lightly to disobedience OR finger-pointing.
He wants us to be responsible for our actions, words and thoughts. He COMMANDS
us to do so.
Galatians 6:5, “For every man shall bear his own burden.”(KJV)
Several times in the bible, we are told that every man is responsible
for his actions and shall be condemned for those he does not fulfill. We are
each in charge of our selves, no one else. Of course, we can help others if
they have trouble fulfilling their duties through encouragement and prayer, but
we cannot take their place nor do their work for them. I tell this often to my siblings and the kids I babysit.
"Don't pay attention to them," I say, pointing at the victim of the tattle-telling, "You pay attention to yourself. You can tell them that they aren't supposed to do that, but don't get upset with what they do. They are in charge of what they do, not you."
Deuteronomy 24:16, “The fathers shall not be put to death
for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers:
every man shall be put to death for his own sin.”(KJV)
People view our maturity mostly by how responsibly we act in
situations, whether we finish our job or toss our work. That’s another way we
can share the gospel. By fulfilling our responsibility to God (spreading the
Gospel and his love) we are spreading the truth and being a living, breathing
testimony to the world…and being a better person too. We are required by God to
do many things; take care of the earth, love our brethren, spread the Gospel,
train up our children to follow Christ, serve him in everything we do, etc…we
have so many duties we are commanded to complete.
We are given duties, obligations, and responsibilities. We
are required, by God, to fulfill our duties to Him and our fellow brethren. No
one appreciates free loaders…nobody. And they definantly won’t be rewarded for
their laziness at the pearly gates.
"We must
instill a sense of duty in our children; every right implies a responsibility,
every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty." John D.
Rockefeller Jr. (Raising Children to be Rich)
Bibliography
Perry, Lynn. "Thought Renewal." Thought Renewal. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. http://thoughtrenewal.blogspot.com/.
"Teaching Your Children What Is Responsibility and Self Responsibility." What Is Responsibility? N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. <http://www.raising-children-to-be-rich.com/what-is-responsibility.html>.
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