Responsibility is one of those things that sound like a great trait to have until the moment it lands on us. Then it’s just about the worst thing. Sure, we all like the idea of being praised as responsible, but the actual reality of being the responsible one? Not such a fun experience.
So it’s no surprise that we humans routinely and habitually shove it away as quickly as we can. Most of the time we do it faster than we can even think about what we’re doing.
Take Adam and Aaron in the Old Testament. These gentlemen aren’t the only examples of a total lack of responsibility in the Bible, but they are two very glaring ones.
In Genesis 3 (sometimes it hurts to see just how early everything went wrong) we see how quick Adam is to shift blame. “‘Who told you that you were naked?’ the Lord God asked, ‘Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?’ The man replied, ‘It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.’” (Genesis 3:11-12)
Nice Adam. Strong move. Everyone respects the guy who blames his own actions on his wife. We want to scoff at his choice here but how different are we really? From little kids pointing at their sibling when their parents catch them out to passing the blame in our adult lives, we are just as bad as Adam when it comes to individual responsibility.
And yes, the argument exists that he wasn’t lying. Eve did give him the apple. Eve completely failed in responsibility here too. But rather than absolve Adam, that puts his lack of responsibilty into even harsher light. Adam wasn’t just the first man, he was also the first husband. He had a responsibility to protect and look after Eve and while she was completely guilty in her own right, Adam simply neglected his duties as a husband, and worse yet, he covered his tracks by putting the blame on his wife. It’s a painfully uncomfortable aspect of his story.
Now let’s look ahead to Exodus, when Moses is up on Mount Sinai talking with God and the Israelites below are starting to get nervous. Scared that Moses won’t come back and with the memory of a goldfish for what God has done, the Israelites turn to Aaron in a panic. They make the appalling request that he make them gods they can turn to. And Aaron does it, giving them detailed instructions on the gold they are to collect and bring to him that he then fashions into a giant golden calf.
When God, in a fury, sends Moses back to confront his brother, Aaron quickly goes the way of Adam, shirking responsibility and shifting blame.
“‘Don’t get so upset, my lord,’ Aaron replied, ‘You yourself know how evil these people are. They said to me, “Make us gods who will lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.” So I told them “Whoever has gold jewelry, take it off.” When they brought it to me, I simply threw it into the fire- and out came this calf!’” (Exodus 32:22-24)
Honestly, the absurdity of this excuse makes me laugh. Are you serious, Aaron? That’s how little responsibility you’re going to take here? You’re actually going to claim that you happened to throw a bunch of gold into a fire and an idol that tripped up an entire nation just fell out?
Aaron was all fine and good with being the responsible one as long as he was being praised and elevated for his status. But the second responsibility comes with accountability he runs for the hills, throwing people in the line of fire as he goes.
You know who’s the ultimate example of taking responsibility? You’re right. It’s Jesus. That was an easy one.
But it’s true. Jesus is the ultimate example of complete and total responsibility. Not only did Jesus take full, accountable responsibility, but he did it in a situation that truly was not of his making. He could have shifted all of the blame to us and he would have been 100% accurate and correct to do so.
But that’s not what he did. Jesus, in true, ultimate, beautiful leadership, stepped out in front of everyone to blame and took the responsibility on himself.
Adam and Aaron were at fault and took no responsibility. Jesus had no fault but took full responsibility. Adam and Aaron couldn’t take responsibility for themselves. Jesus took on responsibility for the whole world. It’s no wonder we’re told to imitate Christ and not man.
If more people considered what it meant to be truly responsible, we’d see far fewer people seeking out leadership. If you want to be a good leader, responsibility is non-negotiable. You have to be someone willing to take on consequences. The consequences of the things you’ve gotten wrong, and sometimes the consequences of things other people got wrong. Rulers shift blame. Leaders take responsibility.
If we are to emulate Christ in our sense of responsibility, we have to own situations. We have to be people that step up and fix problems, not point fingers. Forget the apple, forget the calf, own what’s gone wrong and tackle the problem.
Christian, let’s follow our savior and not our fellow man.
Let’s find some joy,
A
Avalon Robinson Author 