The bee takes its responsibility very seriously.Just try to stop it and see what happens!
I recently saw a re-run of the movie, Dirty Dancing. (the original of course) We all remember Patrick Swayze’s famous line, “Nobody puts baby in a corner.” But, Jerry Orbach, who played the dad, also has an awesome line at the end of the film when he realized that he had made a mistake in accusing Swayze’s character of doing something he didn’t do. He said, “When I’m wrong, I say I’m wrong.”
Wow, who would have thought, that a teen dance movie from 1987, would be quote worthy over twenty years later? I have noticed that no one is ever wrong anymore or more precisely, no one admits to being wrong anymore. Once upon a time, responsibility was a cornerstone of our society.
People made mistakes. They owned up to them. There were consequences and then everyone moved on. How many of you reading this, took candy or gum from a store and your mom made you take it back and apologize? I did and my mother marched me right back into Woolworth’s and made me apologize to the cashier. It certainly wasn’t a pleasant experience for me and I’m sure it was embarrassing for her, but it was the right thing to do. She was teaching me responsibility.
There was also a time when we were involved in a car accident, that we immediately apologized to the other driver and admitted fault. We don’t do that anymore. Neither driver ever admits fault even if it’s obvious to every single person involved. Why is that? What has happened to us? Well, we could blame the lawyers and while that’s always fun and they do have some blame, I think the problem runs deeper.
Our politicians are never wrong anymore either. Whether they steal or have extramarital affairs or simply lie to their constituents, they never admit wrongdoing. Our leadership refuses to accept responsibility for their actions.
Part of the foundation of Christianity is repentance. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us, we can be forgiven for anything, but, (and this is a big but), we have to admit the sin and ask for forgiveness. God can’t forgive us for something we refuse to admit and therein lies the rub.
Nobody likes to be wrong. We make excuses to make ourselves feel better about what we are doing and we can always find someone else to blame. “It was my parents’ fault.” “I wasn’t raised any better.” “He cheated me first.” This is one of those endless lists.
But, if we want to live in the peace and joy that come from the Holy Spirit, we have to confess our sins to God. That means we have to take responsibility for our actions. While this can be very uncomfortable, it’s not negotiable. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:19
I think we need to really pray about personal responsibility and act on it. Then, we need to be sure that we are modeling it and teaching it to those around us. I think it’s time for a quiet revolution, one that can make a huge difference. What do you think? Feel free to comment.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂