“His Lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”
Matthew 25:21 [KJV]
Norfolk Island (Photo credit: Sharon)
When I was a teenager, I remember my mother once walking into my bedroom. She stopped just inside the door and recoiled. “This room looks like a bomb went off in here!” she exclaimed.
I squirmed. My bed was unmade and there were clothes everywhere, mixed with books, papers, pens, shoes, my latest craft projects and well, general junk. Was my bedroom at an acceptable level of tidiness? No. Should it be? Yes. Who was responsible for keeping my bedroom tidy? Me.
We all have responsibilities in life. Some are general to all adult Christians, such as church attendance, reading the Bible, paying bills, looking after our health, keeping our promises, obeying laws and confessing sin. Other responsibilities vary between individuals, such as work, study, family, ministry, financial or social commitments. These change depending on life stages and circumstances. For example, a married woman has different responsibilities to a single lady. Someone with small children has different responsibilities to someone without children or with adult children. Someone who lives alone will have a fuller share of housework and financial burdens than others who live with housemates or family.
At some point, we all whinge about responsibilities. Who likes to stop doing something we enjoy to do something we should do but don’t want to do? Who enjoys staying up late despite being tired to complete something before a deadline? Who enjoys apologising to someone we have wronged? Who likes being confronted over sin? Sometimes responsibilities are so enjoyable they don’t feel like duties. But other times they’re boring, hard work, inconvenient, involve difficult relationships or hurt our pride. Someone said to me recently, “Don’t you wish we could just go back to being children again? Plenty of holidays, no job and little responsibility!” However, God’s heart is for us to be mature adults and Christians who should “…be no more children… but… may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:” (Ephesians 4:14-15).
Whether we have many or few, God commands us to be faithful in fulfilling our responsibilities. The Bible says, “every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour” (1 Corinthians 3:8b). In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus tells the parable of a man who entrusted his servants with differing amounts of ‘talents’ which were specific weights of money. When the man returned from his journey, he praised two of the servants for investing wisely, saying to each,” … Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matthew 25:21 &23). However, the third servant was condemned for not doing anything with the money entrusted to him. When God gives us responsibilities, He asks us to be faithful. Keeping a bedroom clean might seem pathetic when compared to raising children; your job might seem uninteresting when compared to another woman’s ministry; and your family commitments might sometimes become tedious. But if God has given you those responsibilities, they have value in His eyes.
So how can we ensure we are fulfilling our God-given responsibilities? Firstly, we need to know and understand our responsibilities. This includes knowing what our responsibility is not. We are not responsible for everything bad that happens to us or those we love. If I act thoughtlessly or deliberately wrongly there are likely to be negative consequences. However, people are victims of crime through no fault of their own, develop lung cancer despite having never smoked, have their houses destroyed by bushfires or cyclones they cannot control, and get hated for being a Christian by people they have never wronged. Often, we become overwhelmed by grief and guilt when someone rejects the gospel we shared with them, or a fellow Christian ignores our advice and goes down an unbiblical life trajectory. However, the decision to accept or reject Christ is the responsibility of that individual. We can warn and share as God leads, but we cannot force a decision or take responsibility for that person’s actions. Luke 23 records that two thieves were crucified with Jesus. One died unrepentant and mocking, the other confessed his guilt, saying, “we receive the due reward of our deeds” and received forgiveness. Same circumstances, but two different responses to the same encounter with Jesus. Regardless of whether external pressures or our own sin put us in our current circumstances, how do we respond when we encounter Jesus?
We need a good knowledge of the Bible, because in there we find God’s expectations regarding how Christians should live lives that glorify Him (1 Corinthians 6:20) and that shine as lights amongst an unsaved world (Matthew 5:16). We need to confess and forsake sin, knowing Christ is our advocate between our sinful hearts and a holy God (1 John 2:1-2). This means accepting responsibility when I sin. Don’t be like Adam and Eve who were quick with excuses, with Adam blaming Eve, and Eve blaming the serpent (Genesis 3). We also need to keep seeking God’s will for our lives. We might want to help that person or meet that need, but is it a responsibility God has given me, or simply my desire? If I spend time on things He doesn’t want me to prioritise, might that mean I can’t fulfil a given responsibility?
Our limits, not just responsibilities, might be different to other people’s. I’m migraine-prone, so I need to think about how a late night or a physically demanding day will affect what I can do in the following couple of days. Another person must consider their child’s needs or career responsibilities, when thinking about which social invitations they can accept, or how late they can stay. Another person has to think about their financial commitments–perh
aps they can’t afford the presents someone else might give. Maybe you are in emotionally difficult circumstances, and just don’t have the mental capacity to let your friend cry on your shoulder over the death of her pet frog. Perhaps you can’t help a person in the way they want you to do, not because you are uncaring, but because you have other priorities. Maybe you have a particular besetting sin, or a trigger that is not an issue for someone else, but you need to take additional steps to protect yourself. The Apostle Paul reminds us, “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise“ (2 Corinthians 10:12).
We also need to recognise where we are failing our responsibilities. Ouch. Often this awareness is forced upon us by the rebuke of others. It might be the Holy Spirit convicting us during a sermon, a manager who sits us down to talk about our work performance, a frustrated friend who points out the deficiencies in our character with more honesty than tact, or a parent who tells us that our bedroom resembles an explosion site. Rather than getting angry at the messenger, stop for a moment to prayerfully consider whether what they are saying is true. Don’t be like King Saul, who refused to listen to the prophet Samuel, and was told, “But now thy kingdom shall not continue …because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee” (1 Samuel 13:14). Instead, be like King David, who listened to the prophet Nathan, acknowledged his sin and received forgiveness (2 Samuel 12).
Above all, remember the motivation for fulfilling our responsibilities is to glorify God. Just as the parable in Matthew 25 records, fulfilling our God-given responsibilities brings joy to God and blessing to us, including being entrusted with larger responsibilities. May we all look forward to one day hearing those words spoken to us, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant… enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matthew 25:21).
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