CHAPTER SIXTEEN
RESPONSIBILITY: THE OBLIGATION OF CHAMPIONS
“But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each one will have to bear his own load” (Galatians 6:4-5)
The difference between maturity and immaturity is responsibility. Also, the difference between an achiever and a failure is responsibility. Responsibility is the obligation that makes you a champion. It is obligation well fulfilled that changes your level. Do you want to go far in life? Then you’ve got to grow up in your mind and take responsibility for your future.
Apostle Paul wrote: “when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things” (1 Corinthians 13:11). According to Paul, there are two types of people. There are mature people and there are immature people. There are children and there are men, according to him. And the difference between the two is responsibility.
Paul is saying here that if you want to achieve anything in life, you must grow up. He said that when he grew up, he had to put away childish things. So there are people that still approach life with childish methods, hence, they get little results. There are those who feed their minds with immature things, hence, they produce poor results.
I mentioned earlier that by potential, there are no inadequate people. However, many have rendered themselves inadequate because they are not willing to take full responsibility for their lives. If you fail, you are the cause and if you succeed, you are the cause. If you’re waiting for someone somewhere to come help you fulfill destiny, you may wait for eternity.
The reason why there is much failure in so many nations today is because there are too many irresponsible people leading the affairs of those nations. Similarly, the reason why there are so many unaccomplished people on earth today is because very few are willing to fulfill obligations. You are to blame for wherever you find yourself. You might have been influenced, but you are to blame for your success or failure.
The New Living Translation of the Bible paints us a very interesting picture in Galatians 4:1. “Think of it this way. If a man dies and leaves great wealth for his young children, those children are not much better than slaves, until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had”. Paul points out here that immaturity and irresponsibility equals slavery. Until you grow up in your mind and start taking full responsibility for your life, you’re going to live like a slave all your life.
Work: Hallmark of the Responsible
The most noticeable watchword of a responsible man is work. The more you work, the more responsible you are. The less work you do, the less responsible you are. Laziness is synonymous with irresponsibility. When God created Adam, He placed him in the Garden of Eden and instructed him to dress it and keep it; that is, to work. Those who don’t work die in poverty. Don’t blame anyone for how miserable you are; start working your way out of mediocrity.
Don’t die wishing for things to happen for you. Wishes never guarantee accomplishment. You have to work real hard. It takes relentless effort to bring your ideas into fruition. It takes tireless drive to make your purpose a reality. Somebody said; “hard work is the single greatest competitive advantage”. It puts you ahead of others. Many have gone ahead of others simply because they put in more effort than every other.
Ideas don’t just happen because they’re great. It takes the 99% perspiration to bring them to pass and also to amount to anything in life. There is no shortcut to lasting success. Hard work is the baseline of great achievements. The level of your productivity is a reflection of the extent of your hard work. The more hard-working you are, the more productive you become and vice versa.
Jesus told a parable about a man who owned a vineyard and had hired labourers to work there one the morning. Then as he passed by in the afternoon, he saw some men that were idle and he questioned them; “why are you all idle? Get yourselves something to do!” and then he asked them to go into his vineyard and work. In the evening, he passed by again and saw other idle men and did likewise (Matthew 20:1-16).
It is often said that there is no food for any lazy man. Similarly, there is no hope of fulfillment for lazy people. Hard work is the symbol of responsibility and responsibility is the price for greatness. You must get yourself actively and diligently engaged in pursuing your plans and aspirations.
Be Accountable; Don’t Push Blames
One of the symbols of responsibility is accountability. God expects you to be accountable for all the resources and endowments He has placed in you to fulfill destiny. You are a custodian of remarkable giftings from God and He expects you to harness them properly and channel them toward the accomplishment of your purpose for life.
Adam was equipped with everything he needed for life and fulfillment, but he lacked accountability. So when God; the Boss, came down one evening to inspect what was going on in the Garden, Adam, the custodian of the garden ran away. He knew he had messed up. Then he began to blame Eve for his mistake. He was shifting blames on another person. The head was accusing his subordinate for being the cause of his error. Many leaders just like Adam accuse all but themselves for their failure.
You are supposed to be in control, not out of control. One day, you’ll have to look back at your life and assess whether or not you have made the right use of your giftings, your time, your resources, your energy and everything God has given you to have a great life.
You can’t blame anyone for where you are. Life may not have treated you fairly, but you can pick yourself up and move on. You didn’t decide the conditions surrounding your birth; good or bad, rich or poor. But you can decide how you’ll live afterward. You can decide to create a new beginning by working your way into greatness or you can sit there and complain. The choice is all yours. Remember, if you fail, you caused it and if you succeed, you caused it.
Note These
1. You don’t ask for relevance, you earn it. Therefore you must take responsibility for your greatness as it is the only way to become relevant to your world.
1. Self-discipline is the genesis of responsibility and you must consciously despise every form of exuberance that will divert your focus from achieving your goals in life.
2. Time waits for nobody. You therefore need to invest time, not wasting it. Responsible people learn to manage tight schedules, meeting deadlines and achieving every set-goal in time.
3. Commitment gives you an edge. You cannot accomplish goals you are not committed to. And commitment is one of the virtues of responsibility. If you want to go far in life, you must give it your all.
4. Learn to manage resources prudently. The truth is; you’ve got all it takes to fulfill destiny. You have the talent, the required time and every other resource at your disposal. Responsibility is your ability to use those resources to your advantage, not wasting them.
5. Instructions are the highway to life. You must learn to learn. You must follow precepts from those that have gone ahead of you. You must be ready to be rebuked and corrected.
6. Start from where you are, no matter how small. Nowhere is too small to start from. Don’t hesitate to take strides toward the fulfillment of your goals just because you are still waiting for money to come. That’s a mark of irresponsibility.
7. Don’t celebrate an achievement for too long. Many people still talk about something big they achieved twenty years ago. The question is; what else have you achieved since that time? If your answer is “nothing really”, then you are getting outdated. People are already overtaking you. Nobody waits for anybody in this era where we live. You need to get over your past success and start moving on.
8. Change is constant in this era. Therefore, learn to refine your approach and methods in order to be relevant to the generation after you.