Being Responsible…

Hello Friends,

How are you doing? Have you been enjoying the first two weeks of Fall? That’s right, Fall has been around for two weeks already!! I can’t believe it. And after a few days of rain and gloomy skies, we finally get to experience some crisp mornings and sunny–with a slight breeze–afternoons. I am definitely ready for Fall! (And to get back outside to finish up some yard work!)

Thinking about yard work, I have realized that taking care of the yard at the house is sort of my responsibility: I make sure the grass is cut, trim down the weeds, and rake up any dead grass and leaves. I don’t mind having this responsibility, but sometimes it takes a lot of difficult work. Do you have any responsibilities? Do your parents expect you to do something to help them out?

Let me ask you: Have you ever been asked to do something (or maybe even just go along with something) that you know, deep inside, is the wrong thing to do? Sometimes those things happen to us all. I know that when I was your age there were even a few times that I got myself into trouble for doing things that if I’d really thought through, I probably would have decided against. The problem always was: my friends were doing them too – and I’d been too afraid for some reason to tell them “no.”That can be awfully tough, can’t it? When you see your friends doing something that’s maybe against the rules – or doing something dangerous, or wrong? It seemed like whenever those things happened, I’d try to explain it to my parents by saying that “everyone else was doing it” or “he told me to!” And they always told me the same thing: The choices we make are ours – and so we have to take personal responsibility. To be responsible means that – no matter what – you’re in charge of making your own decisions to what is right.

What is “responsibility”? Well, responsibility is doing what is right. For example, we have a responsibility to help our parents with certain jobs; we have a responsibility to make sure we have what we need for school each day; we have a responsibility to be on time for events; and we have a responsibility to keep our promises. If you think about it, we have tons of responsibilities: some are small and easy while others are huge and tough to follow. Besides the responsibilities that our parents and teachers have for us, Jesus also as responsibilities for us to follow laid out in the Bible.

For instance, we have a responsibility to do what is right. Luke tells us, we are to be responsible for the way we act toward others (Luke 10:30-37). Matthew echoes this sentiment in his own Gospel when he quotes Jesus, “Do unto others what you would have them do unto you” (7:12). Luke also quotes Isaiah by saying that we are responsible for bringing good news to the poor, proclaiming release to the captives, recovering the sight of the blind, setting free those who are oppressed…and seeking out and saving the lost (Luke 4:18; 19:10). Timothy, the aid to Paul, reminds us that we have a responsibility for the way we treat our families (1 Timothy 5:8). Paul tells us that we have the responsibility to “rejoice always” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17) and make praying without ceasing one of our main responsibilities (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17). Hebrews 13:5 asserts that we have the responsibility to respectfully handle our money. In the fourth chapter of Philippians, we have the responsibility to take everything to the Lord in prayer and to not worry about tomorrow. Exodus informs us that we have the responsibility to continue to build the tabernacle of God (Exodus 25-40).  Returning to Timothy, we are told that we have the responsibility to study God’s word (2 Timothy 2:15). And let’s not forget that we have the responsibility to “Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew 28:19-20) as we love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, body, and strength and love our neighbor as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40). Jesus has tons of responsibilities for us to follow, but can we follow them?

This week’s gospel story is one of the most unusual we’ve had to talk about. Instead of a story about Jesus and the lessons he taught us, this week’s story is about a King (King Herod). And unlike so many of the gospel stories that make us feel good inside, this is a very sad story. It’s one of the most horrible in the entire Bible.

King Herod is having a birthday party – and during the party his daughter does a dance so beautiful that he tells her he’ll grant her a wish. Whatever she wants, she can have. And here’s where the story becomes so hard to hear. She tells him that she wants him to do something very wrong – to kill a man.

And now Herod has a choice. He’s made her a promise to grant her wish, but what she asks for is something terrible. What would you have told her?

I think that I would have to break the promise rather than do such an awful thing. But Herod makes another choice. He sends his guards to kill the man, just so he can keep his promise. It’s a sad story – one so sad that even many grownups wonder what can be learned from it.

I’ve thought a lot about that this week – and decided that for me, this story is a reminder that we are sometimes asked to make choices that we just know would be wrong – and how important it is to have the strength and the courage to say no. Even when taking responsibility is a hard thing to do.

Only you can make those choices. So next time you’re asked, will you do a better job than Herod, remember that you’re responsible for the things you do and for doing your best to do the right thing. You have a great responsibility to follow Jesus; but are you willing to follow him? How are you going to be responsible this week?

Let’s pray: Dear God, Sometimes we are faced with such hard choices. Fill us with the wisdom and strength we need to live our lives in a way that you may find pleasing. Amen.

Your Friend, Holy Spirit!

Lesson borrowed from Dr. Dan Wuori