Who Is Responsible?
Who is responsible for your actions? You can say others encouraged you to do wrong. Of course they might have motivated you. But then the ultimate responsibility for your action is yours alone.
Judas Iscariot faced this bitter truth.He said, “I have sinned for I have betrayed innocent blood.” Saying so he returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and elders. And what was their reply? “What is that to us? That’s your responsibility (Matthew 27:4).”
Again, we see another man trying to evade his responsibility by washing his hands with water in front of the crowd crying out, “Crucify him!” He washed and said, “In am innocent of this man’s blood. It is your responsibility.” (See 27:24). Well, what do you think? Was Pilate relieved of his responsibility?
This was the same man who said, “I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him … he has done nothing to deserve death … I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty (Luke 23:14, 15, 22). But he gave up Jesus to be crucified “wanting to satisfy the crowd.” (See Mark 15:15). Can you by any means say Pilate was not responsible for his action?
From where did this evasion of responsibility start? Right from the garden of Eden. Adam shifted responsibility of his sin on to Eve and she in turn blamed the serpent (see Genesis 3:12, 13). But God holds each person accountable for his or her actions.
One positive thing about David’s response to Prophet Nathan’s rebuke was that he accepted sole responsibility for his sin. He said, “I have sinned against the LORD (1 Samuel 12:13). He could have said it was Bathsheba’s fault that she was bathing where she could be seen. But David when he was convicted accepted his sin.
Dear friend, you can find a thousand excuses for your sin. You might even imagine yourself as a helpless victim of circumstances (Of course there are situations you are not in control, for example see Deuteronomy 22:25–27).
But then God is gently reminding you today to accept responsibility for your sin, confess and forsake it. Then the blood of Jesus shall cleanse, purify and sanctify you.
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Insight
If God had listened to Eve’s claim, all the jails in this world would have remained empty as this would allow one to claim innocence by arguing that someone else made them to commit it. God set a pattern for the law of justice to follow. This is still followed across the world.