Responsibility part1
November 25th 2006 11:25
This has been on my mind for a long long time. I feel that now is the right time to write this, and so I shall.
I also realise that I didn't explain myself extremely well in my last post, but I will go back and redo it very soon. I also don't think that I answered Daressi's comment appropriately which I will also fix. I will also take this time to apologise for that.
My favourite quote about responsibility comes from a man named Dietrich Bonhoeffer (go look him up, he had a remarkable life story) "God and our neighbour, as they confront us in Jesus Christ, are not only the limit, but as we have already percieved, they are also the origin of responsible action." Great words, but what do they mean?
As far as being the limit, that is pretty easy. It simply means the things we shouldn't do. We shouldn't steal, lie, rape, murder etc etc. The consequence and ethics of these actions are evident, and that very quickly. But the beginning of responsible action, I am thinking that there is a few things there. I am a christian (what you didn't know?) and to that point, before I go out to the world there are a few things I need to be getting right.
I need to pray. I need to be sure that every day I am mindful of the renewal of my mind, that I am covered by Grace. I need to be spending time with God, developing myself. That is the beginning of my responsible action with God. It is also the beginning of my being responsible with people. I need to pray, to get and keep myself in that attitude where I am never forgetting that God made people in His image and that I should be respecting that. It means getting a decent nights sleep, having my stuff ready for work, driving safely, all those things.
A pastor named Paul Scanlon once said that the best thing you can give everyone in your life is a healthy you. That pretty well sums up so much of my own thinking in this area. If I am to truly walk as a christian ought, I need to be developing myself. Bonhoeffer also said that christians should speak of duties before rights because the first things they have been given are gifts. I am alive, I have been given life, therefore I have the responsibility to live. I have been given a brain, a will and I am good at stuff. So I have the responsibility of thinking and doing all the things I have been designed to do.
JoshZ
I also realise that I didn't explain myself extremely well in my last post, but I will go back and redo it very soon. I also don't think that I answered Daressi's comment appropriately which I will also fix. I will also take this time to apologise for that.
My favourite quote about responsibility comes from a man named Dietrich Bonhoeffer (go look him up, he had a remarkable life story) "God and our neighbour, as they confront us in Jesus Christ, are not only the limit, but as we have already percieved, they are also the origin of responsible action." Great words, but what do they mean?
As far as being the limit, that is pretty easy. It simply means the things we shouldn't do. We shouldn't steal, lie, rape, murder etc etc. The consequence and ethics of these actions are evident, and that very quickly. But the beginning of responsible action, I am thinking that there is a few things there. I am a christian (what you didn't know?) and to that point, before I go out to the world there are a few things I need to be getting right.
I need to pray. I need to be sure that every day I am mindful of the renewal of my mind, that I am covered by Grace. I need to be spending time with God, developing myself. That is the beginning of my responsible action with God. It is also the beginning of my being responsible with people. I need to pray, to get and keep myself in that attitude where I am never forgetting that God made people in His image and that I should be respecting that. It means getting a decent nights sleep, having my stuff ready for work, driving safely, all those things.
A pastor named Paul Scanlon once said that the best thing you can give everyone in your life is a healthy you. That pretty well sums up so much of my own thinking in this area. If I am to truly walk as a christian ought, I need to be developing myself. Bonhoeffer also said that christians should speak of duties before rights because the first things they have been given are gifts. I am alive, I have been given life, therefore I have the responsibility to live. I have been given a brain, a will and I am good at stuff. So I have the responsibility of thinking and doing all the things I have been designed to do.
JoshZ
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Comment by Hope
Gifted Parenting
Comment by JoshZ
A Simple Christian
I also think that if christians truly believe that they are God's representatives on earth, they ought to act like it.
JZ