Order means responsibility

A few days ago we read something about faithfulness by Rosemarie. It is important to be faithful in that which we do. However, apart from faithfulness it is also important to take responsibility for that for which we have been appointed to do.

If you forget to write a devotional, it is annoying to those who look forward to reading it, but nothing bad happens. However, if you are appointed to do a task, it can have repercussions. As parents, in traffic, at work... a lot can happen when we don't fulfil our responsibilities.

In my professional work at a forwarding company we work mainly for various printing works. The finished prints are loaded onto euro-exchange-pallets. And so it is important that there are sufficient pallets at the printing works before weekends. If they run out of pallets, the printing presses would have to be switched off, because they will not be able to produce the finished brochures. When the responsible colleague decided punctually that it was end of day and time to leave, we still asked him if everything was complete. However, minutes later a large printing works called and enquired as to where the 300 ordered pallets were. If we all had left punctually, it would have caused major chaos over the weekend. So I, together with a colleague and the boss, remained at work until half past seven in the evening, to complete that which my colleague had failed to do.

In this instance it would “only” have been about a financial and reputational loss. However, in other instances where we have responsibility, it can also be a matter of life or death.

In the world there are many divine roles given by God. Parents and children, husband and wife, employer and employee, pastor and believer, teacher and student, politician and people... In all these different roles we have responsibility on both sides. Everyone has to fulfil the role in his position and bear the responsibility for it.

When we don't follow the order and take responsibility, we automatically go against God's divine order. This wrong way, this missing of targets, is one of the things the Bible calls sin. These orders don't have a purpose only in themselves, they are necessary for an orderly mutual life. And only those who take their role seriously, contribute to a fulfilled community.

What roles do you play in your life?
Do you fulfil all your roles suitably?
Do you follow the order of your position?

I wish you a blessed day.

Rainer Gigerich