Our Problems
and Our Responsibility
The first factor we looked
at when considering the three factors that are involved in every problem and
situation that we face was, Our Problems
and God’s Sovereignty. The second
factor in the trials and problems (and the good stuff) that we experience in
life is our own responsibility.
We make choices every day
and it is often our own choices (or
lack of choices) that play into our problems.
If I impulsively gamble all my money away I cannot blame God or anyone else
for my own folly. I am ultimately
responsible for my own choices and their consequences. Proverbs 19:3 states, “A man’s own folly ruins his
life, yet his heart rages against the Lord.” I have worked with people who continue to
make poor choices for their life and yet they shake an angry fist at God for
their situation.
Another way our human
responsibility comes into view is the
role we play in bringing about the positive things that happen for our life. I work with singles that have a strong desire
to be married and some will tell me that they do not feel that God is
blessing them with a mate. However when
I probe as to what they are actively doing to meet people, I will sometimes find
that they are not really doing much of anything. To those who are very socially inactive and
not putting themselves in a position to meet people I might say something like,
“Even though I know that God could
miraculously bring someone into your life, the chance of this happening while
you are repeatedly sitting in front of the television with the remote and a
gallon of ice cream is much more unlikely.”
Finally, we need to consider and work on our own personal
issues that lie beneath our situations.
Several years ago, I was working with a man who had a lot of deep personal
and relational issues. In addition to much
pent up anger and bitterness he had significant challenges in relating to
people and getting along with others. As
a result, he had been through several jobs due to simply quitting or being let
go because of his poor attitude and actions. One day as we were talking he stated
that he was not seeing God’s blessing in his life. God was not blessing him with a steady job
and a successful career. In the midst of
our discussion on God’s blessing I pointed him to his own responsibility in the
balance by stating, “Even if God were to
graciously bless you with a job, you still need to be able to keep it. You still have the responsibility of dealing
with any underlying issues and problems that hinder you from getting along with
others and maintaining relational peace in the workplace.”
As we look to the
underlying factors of the problems that we face we cannot neglect looking at
our own responsibility in the mix of life.
To fail to look at ourselves may ultimately lead to a victim mentality
and blaming God and everyone else for our situation in life.
Next I will focus on
factor #3!
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