Take Responsibility For Your Actions by Nina Keegan - Owens

I remember going to a parent teacher conference for my son when he was in 2nd grade. The parents all waited in the hallway until it was their turn to go into the classroom and have a chat with the teacher reguarding their child's progress and any other concerns. While we were waiting in the hall, the parents of a child that was considered to be somewhat of a trouble maker, and very disruptive in class, exited the classroom in an angry, hurried manor using explitives and making snide remarks about how they would just yank their child out of that blankety blank school, stating he did nothing wrong and that the teacher was out of her mind.

We all sat in shock as we witnessed the blundering actions of those parents. I remember thinking that these parents were not doing their child any favors by not having him take responsibility for his actions. He deserved to be corrected for his misbehavior so that he could make improvements but instead,the family would just refuse to take responsibility, sweep it all under the rug, blame it all on the teacher, and the child would never learn from his mistakes. This would just all start a vicious cycle in the child's life of having no consequences for his actions.

Kids who are never made to take responsibility for their own actions when they are young whether it be failing grades, bullying others, or even something as elementary as not telling the truth, will grow up to be adults that will never own up to their misjudgements either. This all results in a society of people that never fully get to enjoy their lives because it is spent feeling sorry for themselves . They always feel like they just got a bumb rap, that they drew the short straw, so to speak.

Irresponsibility is a huge problem in the world today, quite honestly, "The world does not owe you a living"!!!! For many people, their belief is that the world does owe them and they have to do absolutely nothing to earn it. The fact is, you get out of something exactly what you put in to it! It's the basic law of reciprocity. Reciprocity by definition, is an exchange of privledges.You will reap what you sow! We must be held accountable for our actions.

We are never to young or to old to start taking responsibility for what we do in life, every mistake and misgiving we fail to address is one we will never learn from. Precious lessons about life are learned through humbling ourselves. When we go through life believing that it is never fair, it never will be! The truth is, we have free will and a fresh, new opportunity every day to set the record straight, own our mistakes, by doing so we become responsible for filtering positive changes into our own lives. You simply cannot change what you wont acknowledge. Own it! Then change it!!

(James 4:10) Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up!

I think in society as a whole today, we tend to have real issues with taking responsibility for our actions. We play the blame game and the ever popular game of pass the buck! We see it all the time from politics to the news. People either try to cover up their irresponsibilities, indiscretions,and failures, or lie about them and start pointing the finger in every direction but towards ourselves. Excuses, well we can get awfully creative with those little viruses that can spread in us like a wild fire burning out of control. With each excuse we pile another log on the fire. For some people, concocting the perfect excuse is a perfected art form and a manipulation tactic that breeds life into an irresponsible, insecure, lifestyle that takes on a complete life of its own!
.
When is that day coming when we can just say, "I messed up, it's all my fault, I take full responsibility and will remedy the situation." We need to back up our words with actions so our word actually stands for something! Do you know how much better this world would be if we could just be responsible for ourselves? We can write our own ticket! Raise the bar! Acknowledge what isn't working, change what you dont like, learn more, achieve, grow, do! Set high standards for how you want to be perceived and back it up with integrity. The impressive examples we could set for future generations would make such a difference in their lives. Kids learn what they live.

We all have the equal and ultimate God given freedom, a free will to do and say as we please in this country as long as we obey those certain laws that are put in place for our safety and designed for our well being. It seems these laws continue to get blurry over time, they get smudged just enough that their very interpretation gets skewed. The envelope gets pushed. And it's hard to stay between the dotted lines. Ater a while, bad behavior and irresponsibility numbs your reality, the lines begin to fade and eventually you can't even see those dotted lines at all anymore.

(Romans 14:12) says, Behold each of us will give an account of himself before God.

You can either be accountable now or accountable at the gates of heaven the difference is, being responsible now , living right, doing the right things, making wise choices and owning our mistakes here and now, will give us joy and peace here and now.
Live a life you can be proud of while you have the chance. Take responsibility for your actions and set high standards for yourself and an example of profound excellence for others to follow.

(Proverbs 28:13)
A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful. But if he confesses and forsakes them, he gets another chance.

Heavenly Father, help us to humble ourselves before you daily and take responsibility for our actions. Help us to grow in our faith and be a better example to others as we continue to walk in faith. thank you for allowing us forgiveness while we are changing our ways! in Jesus name!
Amen

"The final forming of a person's charactor lies in their own hands...".
Anne Frank 1929-1945