31 Virtues for Our Kids ~ Responsibility

Responsibility

Over the next few months we will be praying for 31 Virtues for our Kids maybe even for ourselves too!

Galatians 6:1-5 (New International Version)
1Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, 5for each one should carry his own load.

I think this so important for myself and my children. We need to learn responsibility. Being responsible is answerable or accountable, as for something within one's power, control, or management. Dictionary.com also defines it as having a capacity for moral decisions and therefore accountable; capable of rational thought or action.

I love how our Father deals with his children. He gentle but stern. This passage adddress so many things in our lives. We need to help others be restored but be careful that we don't fall in the process. Help others but don't become prideful and think you have arrived. There is such a delicate balance in taking pride in yourself and not becoming prideful. This verse asks us to check ourselves.

I told my daughter the other day that she is only responsible for herself. I actually thought of this passage while I was helping her work through some things. We can not control others and what they do to us. They only thing we can control is our reactions to those things that bug us. I told her she had two choices....#1 stay mad and let it ruin your day or...#2 let it go and decided to be loving even when it seemed that others were not being loving to you.

I want my kids to understand that we are in control of ourselves...when we need to do good or even when we have done wrong. It is funny how much I remember my dad drilling into me the importance of being responsible and making sure I kept my commitments. If I dropped the ball on a project...I was taught to make it right. If I wanted to quit even though I made a commitment...my dad wouldn't let me. I am sure he saw my eyes roll at him plenty of times; but he was teaching me to be responsible with my actions. It is the same thing I need to teach my kids. This is such a valuable virtue to take with them into adulthood.

*"Grant that my children may learn responsibility, for each one should carry his own load."

*by Bob Hostetler, it is excerpted from Pray! magazine issue #4, 31 Biblical Virtues to Pray for Your Kids