Responsibility

Do you ever think about a moment where you realized that, despite your best effort, you still ended up doing the wrong thing? One such story lands here to start this discussion. Embarrassing but a teaching moment is produced. 

Years ago, I was new to a location and the team that worked there. The previous manager had been let go and I was supposed to be a temporary fill in until a permanent replacement was found. After a few months I realized that it I was that replacement. One day we had a loss of utility power causing the systems to start up the site generators and transfer the building power over. The design of the system was to return to utility after thirty minutes of clean, uninterrupted utility power. The person I reported to (aka, the customer) had requested that we stay on generator until we had confirmed from the utility company what had happened and that the issue had been resolved. As I dug through the manuals, I found no information or directions that showed how to stop the automatic retransfer. I enlisted the help of the guys on shift to try and sort this out. Meanwhile the countdown was on. After about 25 minutes, I, along with one of the team, stood in front of the control panel. I determined that placing the system in a “manual” control would stop the automation. This seemed to make sense, automatic – not automatic.  At the same time, the site manager was telling his director that everything was fine and that the building would stay on generators and nothing else would happen. All of the sudden, to his surprise, the lights went out and subsequently came back on. He runs into the power room in a panic asking me what had happened (words modified for cleanness). I stood there, looking at him and back at the screen. Pointing to the warning label above the screen with the words “do not place the system in manual while on generator as this will result in dropping the load” and stated clearly that this warning was true and I had just proved it. Fortunately, utility was available and nothing else happened. In that moment, it would have been easy to find fault in the staff, the operation manual or any other thing. It would have been easy to deflect the blame. However, I was the one that did the operation and ignored the warning label right in front of me. I have used this story as part of my training regimen for new team members. It garners a lot of laughs but is effective. Why? People remember the story and they also see that I will take ownership of my actions and not push the blame on others. Also, my expectation of them is the same. 

Why do I tell this story? 

In the events that occurred on that day, it would have been easy to excuse what happened by either my being new, no help from the other technicians, no good reliable information, time constraints, etc.. In fact, several people were quick to tell me that I wasn’t to blame. According to society today, I would have been within my rights to pass the blame along. But, the truth was, I operated the system and made the error. I was responsible. 

In the garden at the fall of mankind with Adam and Eve, each were quick to deflect responsibility and point to elsewhere to shift blame. God clearly saw (actually already knew) through this. What we learn from scripture that we are alone responsible for our actions and reactions. Sure, environment, upbringing even other people can have an influence on our behaviors but, at the end of the day, we are accountable to God on our own. Our actions, responses, attitudes, etc. are squarely in our court. 

The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Genesis 3:12–13 (ESV)

Adam blamed God and the woman. Eve blamed the serpent. So from the beginning, man has excused his behavior as caused by someone or something else. Yet individual responsibility for actions has always been God’s way. Side bar here, as much as it pains me, Adam was fully at fault as he was right there while Eve was being tempted and he did nothing. If there is any doubt,  go back and read Genesis 3. 

Today, we have come up with every reason and excuse to shift blame away from ourselves. Ownership of one’s actions is not the norm. Think about how our political system operates. Every new administration spends more time and energy on blaming their situation on those who came before. It is extremely rare to hear a leader say, we are in this situation because of our own actions and policies. Even when someone is caught in a lie, it is conveyed that “they were just misunderstood” or my personal favorite “I misspoke”. The world tells us that we are merely victims of whatever can be thought up in the moment. 

But, when it comes to God, as we read, we are on our own when it comes to responsibility for our actions. No finger pointing, no misunderstanding, no deflection, nothing. We will all stand before God, on our own, and give an account. 

“Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin. Deuteronomy 24:16 (ESV).

The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.  Ezekiel 18:20 (ESV).

If I had to offer council here, as we begin to raise the finger to point, stop and think about what our part really is.  Whether it is driving on the roadway or shopping in a store, even something that we read on social medial, we need to check ourselves and if we respond incorrectly, take ownership of that action and work to set things straight. Maybe we will have other consequences to manage but, we have not shifted the blame off to someone else. Paul declared himself the “chief of sinners” and his ownership of life before coming to faith. 

1 John 1:9 tells us that if we confess our sins, God will forgive us and cleanse us. Note that it is if we confess our sins, not point them out and say “if such and such or so and so”. We take ownership, confess and receive forgiveness. I cannot help but think, first, how different my attitude would be, had I always put this into practice, how different circumstances would have turned out. But secondly, how different life could be if we, as humans, would begin to take ownership of our actions and behaviors. I believe that people would do things differently and if they found themselves in a bad environment, or coming out of bad relationships, whatever the situations might be, that they would be better, too. 

Thought for action – first, examine your relationship with God.  At the end of the day, we are accountable to Him alone. Second, , evaluate how societal influences affect your interactions with others.. Look for blind spots, whether real or perceived and move to get around them. We have always heard that “honesty is the best policy” and when it comes to accepting responsibility, we should be honest with ourselves, and in turn be honest with others. We may have to deal with consequences as a result but, our hearts and minds will be clear. 

In His Name,

Scott