Responsibility

RESPONSIBILITY

“So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him” I Samuel 17:20

Greetings in the precious Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May the good LORD bless your children and grandchildren as they begin a new month. May the LORD bless them with good health, wisdom and knowledge. Let the Discerning Spirit rest upon you and your children.

This month I want to place before you some thoughts about fulfillment of our responsibilities God has given us in a proper way which will please our God. There is lot of responsibilities that God has given for all mankind, but He expects us to do it properly.

Responsibility is a duty or obligation to satisfactorily perform or complete a task (assigned by someone, or created by one’s own promise or circumstances) that one must fulfill, and which has a consequent penalty for failure. As the manager, it is your responsibility to make sure that everyone is always on task and doing the right thing. It is your responsibility as a manager to delegate the correct jobs to the right people so that things get done right. Likewise God wants us to be responsible in doing our responsibilities.

DAVID

The three sons of Jesse, Eliab, Abinadab and Shammah, had gone to the battle field along with Saul to fight the Philistines. David, the youngest, about 17 years old stayed back to take care of the flock of his father. David occasionally went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. Whenever he went to the battlefield he saw this Philistine, Goliath, who came out morning and evening, threatening the Israelites, cursing the Living God. All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid.

DAVID AND HIS SHEEP

Now his father asked David to take an ephah of the parched grain and ten loves to his brothers and ten cheeses to the commander of their army in the encampment. So this is the assignment given to David by his father and he immediately obeyed his father. But before going, according to verse 20 of I Samuel, chapter 17, he had the responsibility of tending his father’s sheep, and so he gets up early in the morning and gave instructions to the keeper as to how to look after them, and then he went to meet his brothers. He was very careful in fulfilling the responsibility of caretaker before he could perform his additional duty.

This is a beautiful lesson for us. Fulfilling the responsibility bestowed upon us is very important in life. Some people will never take care of their family but will be doing God’s ministry all the 24 hours. Why Noah built an ark when he heard the warning from God? Hebrew 11:7 says, “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things, not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith”  Paul says that a Bishop should be one who rules his own house well. That is the responsibility given by God.

 

There is a warning in the Bible about the people who ignore their responsibility towards their own family. In I Samuel 2 and 4 we read about it. In verse 12 of chapter 2 we read, “The sons of Eli were corrupt” He just warned his sons but never wanted to take any action against them, which resulted in the death of Eli and his two sons in the same day!

So a father’s responsibility is more in a family, in the growth of the children. It is the duty of the father to make the children happy always. You cannot control your children. Your children are not puppets and you are not a puppeteer. There is just no logical way that you can control every move your child makes or everything your child says, especially outside of your home. Children have their own free will and will act on their own accord—and often in self-interest. The father will have to help the child develop his/her own self interest. But at the same time he must teach his child that he/she is accountable for each and every action. This means that the father should set some limits to the child.
DAVID’S SMOOTH STONES.

We have the thrilling story of David, the modest shepherd boy who slew Goliath, the arrogant giant of Gath. The drama of that event so occupies our attention that the spiritual lessons contained in the more minute details may escape our notice. I’d like to consider the importance of the expression “five smooth stones.” This gives a detailed account of how he kept his responsibility to kill Goliath.

Why did he choose “smooth stones”? Well, you can shoot much more accurately with the proper ammunition. He had faith, but he also used sanctified common sense. He didn’t foolishly say, “The Lord is going to do it anyway, so I’ll just pick up any old jagged rocks.” No, he recognized human responsibility as well as Divine providence and selected shiny, round stones that would speed straight to the mark!

Why more than one stone? Wasn’t David a man of faith? Did he doubt that God would give him perfect timing and aim as he used his trusty sling to take on the enemy of the Lord? (Certainly he needed only a single small pebble to accomplish his mission. But wait, there were at least four other giants (see 2 Sam. 21:15-22). They might rally to Goliath’s defense if something went wrong. Perhaps David had prepared for them. Trusting the Lord implicitly, he chose one stone for the champion of the Philistines and just enough to be ready for any others if they attacked.

God has provided smooth pebbles to win Satan when he attacks us, and His Words are the pebbles. Jesus Christ has set an example in overcoming Satan. When He was in the desert, after fasting for 40 days, He overcame temptations brought by Satan through the Word of God. In Psalm 1 we read “He shall be like a tree firmly planted and tended by the stream of water, ready to bring forth his fruit in its season; his leaf also shall not fade or wither, and everything he does shall prosper and come to maturity. But who is this “he”? Verse two says “His delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law – the precepts, the instructions, and the teachings of God – he habitually meditates, ponders and studies by day and by night.

Dear Brother and Sister, we have important responsibilities and so let us not be lethargic in our duties. Depend on His Word and be prosperous.

Prayer: LORD, help me to prepare myself every day in the morning to get ready to fulfill responsibilities bestowed upon me by You. Amen.