Have you ever placed the blame on someone else for something that you did? I remember one time I really wanted to do that. I was trying to make my cousins laugh, so I began writing curse words on the side of my grandparent’s camper. I did this after my cousins had encouraged me to do it. I gave into peer pressure and wrote all kinds of bad words on the side of the camper in the dust. To my utter horror, one of my cousins told my grandma what I had done.
Needless to say, I was pretty mad for getting caught. I couldn’t believe my cousins had encouraged me to write bad words on the camper, and then they turned around and told my grandma on me. I was the one who got in trouble when they were the ones encouraging me to do it. I wanted more than anything to blame them for my actions. I wanted to tell my grandma that my cousins were the ones that encouraged me to write the curse words on the camper in the first place.
It didn’t matter though to my grandma. I was the one who wrote on the camper, so I was the one that got in trouble. I learned a valuable lesson that day. I was responsible for my actions. Sure, someone might have encouraged me to do the bad thing, but in the end, I was the one who did it. So the mess I had gotten myself into was my own fault.
One of the hardest things to do in life is to take responsibility for your actions. Its so much easier to blame someone else or your circumstances for where you’re at in life. However, its when you begin to take responsibility for your actions that you begin to really become a person of character.
In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt
So I encourage you to take responsibility for your actions. Its not always fun, but it will help you grow into a person of character. In the end, you’re the person resposible for where you are in life and your relationship with God. You have to choose. Its a bit like the verse below.
But maybe you don’t want to serve theLord. You must choose for yourselves today. Today you must decide who you will serve. “- Joshua 24:15 a
When its all said and done, its really up to you to choose your actions. Its up to you whether you serve God or not. Its up to you how far you go in life. So choose to make wise decisions and run after God. In the end, you’ll grow and become a person of character.