A little detour from my series on the Book of James. This one is fresh from the Holy Spirit press and felt an urgency to share.

Father God has made us able to respond i.e. He has given us the ability to make choices (response-ability). So, when we make the wrong choices, when we are irresponsible (use response-ability incorrectly) and bring harm to ourselves and others we must acknowledge this and not shift the blame to others or to our circumstances.

Taking responsibility is the key step to maturity. We cannot begin the journey of change until we accept that we are culpable and acknowledge our foolishness, our error, our mistake, our irresponsibility. Then and only then can learning and change take place. When we fail to take responsibility we are walking in the sin of pride.

Prideful people cannot and will not accept that they could ever be wrong, that their response-ability was and is the cause of the current predicament in which they find themselves.  When I have chosen to act irresponsibly then I must be willing to acknowledge this fact and use my response-ability to make the necessary corrections on the road towards growth, development and maturity.  To do otherwise is to stay stuck in my ways, to believe and confess the lie,”a jus so me stay” and to live a life in which my true calling will never be fulfilled – the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13b).

So, next time you feel the urge to blame someone or something, look inward first and ask yourself, “What was my contribution? Did I act responsibly?”. The one who is quick to take responsibility for their actions is the one who is humble in spirit. This is the one God can use!!

Shalom.