Response – Ability and the Three Channels

Response and ability. These two words seem to make up the word responsibility. How you respond to the events in your life; and how you utilize the ability you have at your disposal will ultimately determine how responsible you are.

From changing a toddler's nappies, making a bed, to cleaning a mess that was made by someone other than yourself. These and many more events call for responsibility.

Imagine a football game where the two opposing teams never score because both teams could never hold ball possession until they score as a team. In such a match, it's always about how “I have an injury, I can't play” or “It's so and sos fault, he didn't tackle well enough” or worse “After all I've done for this team, if they won't consider giving me a pay rise, what's the use?” The three looming enemies of responsibility : “Excuses club, Blame game and Complain mode” Channels.

If you are always feeling inadequate, cheated on or shortchanged; that is a victim mentality – chances are you are not responsible in that area. And you will remain irresponsible as long as you choose to be a victim.

Remaining a victim of circumstances is a state of being that we choose, a choice that:
[1] allows us to blame other people 
[2] lets us blame circumstances 
[3] permits us to avoid responsibility for our lives 
[4] encourages us to feel sorry for ourselves, and 
[5] guarantees that we will stay victims. 
No one has to be a victim!" (Ben Carson, M.D., Think Big (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992), p. 248].

I wonder what Channel, you are tuned to at any one point. When something goes wrong, as it is bound to, how do you respond? When someone messes up a project, do you do anything other than equate blame? Do you constantly whine about the ifs, could haves, would haves?

Rome wasn't built in a day. While we could be quick outdoing each other to point out at problems, if we gave it a bit of thought, we would actually have to admit that we had a part to play in the mess. The messes are as a result of gradual irresponsibility on our part. Adam and Eve are good examples of “Blame game” Channel. They blamed each other for the grievous sin of eating the fruit from the tree.

Where there is a problem, there is also opportunity. Opportunity to change, opportunity for growth, opportunity for better solutions. You could as well see it is as a difficulty. See it as an impossible situation. Consequently, you will then not use your ability to effect change. Your response will be to make excuses, to blame or complain.

Walking in the streets, you come across many people. The ones that amaze me are those who sit on the street at one spot daily, are not impaired in any way and choose begging as a day-to-day activity. I realize that I won't be any better than these guys if I am not responding to the problems I face daily in the right way. If my ability to tackle problems is interpreted as inability or disability, I am as good as those in the street. My day will be a torturous one filled with whining and no action.

Just because you have a dream doesn't make you any better than those who don't have one. You could just be as miserable as they are. What puts you apart is taking the response-ability to bring the dream to fruition. That takes work. You have to be willing to face fear, opposition, take risks and make mistakes. Even start the process afresh. This time better equipped.

Being responsible is a choice. You grow into responsibility as with many of life's choices. If you prove to be responsible with little, then you will be trusted to be responsible with even more. Whether or not your dream becomes a reality, choose to live responsibly. Daily purge yourself off of the three channels. You will gradually be a victor over your circumstances and the one who effects change.

2 Peter 1:5-8 New Living Translation (NLT)

⁵ In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, ⁶ and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, ⁷ and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.
⁸ The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.