Are you one who would rather let someone else lead, always accepting their leadership? For some, this is just being a good follower, a good worker, accepting the responsibility of doing what is expected. There is nothing wrong with being the worker, not the follower, if you are doing it to the best you can, but maybe you just don’t want to have responsibility, because, what happens when you screw up, right? Maybe you find that you tend to pass your responsibilities off to others, to your wife, your parents, your boss, your pastor, or your friends.

God didn’t make you, as a man, to shed your responsibilities on others, or to shirk them because you might make a bad decision. No, He has called you to accept the responsibilities He is handing you, some come with manhood and some happen as we step up into ministry roles, but, they are to be accepted. They are ours, not another persons.

We are to step up and accept them, period.

Read below to see more.

In regards to accepting responsibility, scripture is clear.

1 Corinthians 16:13 (NET) says;

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.

I was perplexed, at first, when I went to chapter 16 and read it in its entirety. Most of the time, when looking for context, there is a series of verses that come together, to make a statement that is better understood in that series than when you just take the one verse out of the series.

I thought this would be the same, but, really, this verse can stand on its own, but, even better, is when it stands with verse 14.

¹³ Stay alert, stand firm in the faith, show courage, be strong. ¹⁴ Everything you do should be done in love.

Verse 13 is the challenge of what the author would like to see us rise up to. This is our responsibility, as men of God.

First, we need to stay alert. We need to maintain a connection with God, in everything, because, as we all know, the enemy goes about like a lion, seeking to devour. Lions are stealthy, they wait until it is easy to get their prey. The prey thinks it is safe, there is no danger, then, without warning, there is a lion attacking it. The lion has the upper hand, because its prey was non attentive, lacking alertness.

We have the responsibility to stay alert, not only for our own lives, but the lives of our family and friends, as well as the lives we encounter on a daily basis.

Second, he tells us to stand firm in the faith. Our responsibility here is to study, to read, to actively get wise council and to continue to trust in God’s sovereignty and power, even when it seems like nothing will work, or we are completely overcome. We are to maintain having faith in His work on the cross to our salvation, in His power over darkness for our very lives, including our eternal lives. We are to maintain our faith in the fact that He is a good father, taking care of us and helping us along the way, even when it seems like we just cannot go anymore. In doing so, we strengthen our own resolve, in that we trust fully in Him and nothing else. This also gives our family security and faith, as they see you in full trust of Him, giving them more reason to fully trust in Him.

Third, he says to show courage. It is our responsibility to fully trust that our God is larger than any issue, any problem, any disaster and any tragedy that can arise. We look at these with the full assurance that our God is there and fully in control, so, who, or what, can stand before Him, let alone do anything to us. This is our courage, that we are protected by Him, not that we have anything to offer, but that in our weakness, He is strong.

Finally, we are called to be strong. To not back down when things get tough, to not give in to our fleshly desires, to not fit the worlds expectations of us, but to strive to be what God has called us to be. Again, our strength comes directly from God, from what was done for us on the cross. Jesus paid the debt of our sin so that we could stand before God, on judgement day, not with an answer, but with a claim, that we accepted the work Jesus did for us on the cross and that we lived for Him from that day until now. Without that, there is no real courage that can last, but with that mindset, there is no fear, because we have been given the courage of Christ.

With all of that said, we move on to the next verse. ¹⁴ Everything you do should be done in love.

Without love, nothing we do will matter, will be fruitful in the end and will not bring about the example of Christ we are to show. However, with love as our catalyst, as our moving force, we can be all we are called to be, even when we fail, even when we fall, because we have a Lord and Savior who will help us, because He loves us.

Without love as our reasoning, we are nothing more than a clanging symbol, making noise, trying to be something so others will notice. This is not what we were meant to be.

We are to accept responsibility in every way, but with love as our defining reason.

We are to love God, with all our heart, soul and mind and we are to love others, as we love ourselves. Knowing this, we are to accept that we are responsible for our family and ourselves and anyone who God has placed in our care. We are responsible to Him that has created us.