Genesis 3:9,12 (NKJV)

‘Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”…Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”’

Responsibility means taking ownership of a given situation where you have leadership over. In any community or relationship, there are established authorities and responsibility is usually conferred on the presumed or established authority. When God came to the family, He sought out the man because he was the one given responsibility and authority to ensure all goes well in the family. And when things went awry, Adam was expected to man-up and take the flak. But he bucked and chickened out. He passed the buck to the woman and to God Himself.

We need more leaders who don’t just enjoy the benefits of leadership but take responsibility when things go wrong. Even if you were not the direct cause of the problem, if it happened under your watch, you must take responsibility. Who knows what God’s decision may have been if Adam had owned up! We must learn to accept blame and rebuke when things go wrong. That’s leadership. Let’s stop pointing fingers and blaming others. Can we begin to show a new example of spirituality by owning up when things go wrong under our watch?

‘Deliver me Lord from the cowardice of escapism. Grant me the boldness of your Spirit to accept blame and failure in an honorable way. May I not be too worried about the penalty of owning up, but may I be man enough to seek for forgiveness and correction when things go wrong under my watch. Strength Lord. I need your strength. Amen.’