Accountable Examples

Read Proverbs 4

What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting.

Matthew 18:7

The last thing a person in today’s society wants is to be responsible for someone else. Those in the public eye, from sports figures to movie stars, shrug off the idea of being role models for young people.

Most people—the famous as well as the not so famous—have enough trouble handling responsibility for their own lives, much less the lives of others. The invention of the no-fault divorce represents just how far we’ve come with this idea. We don’t want to take responsibility for our own actions—and by default, we can’t bring ourselves to assign blame to others either. We cower as a culture behind the motto “To each his own.” However, Jesus peers over our shabbily constructed defenses to deliver the news: We are responsible for our influence on others. What a terrible and terrifying proposition for a culture that would rather look the other way.

A WORD FOR TODAY

Influence implies responsibility.

Today, Lord, I know others are watching me as I try to live for you. Help me be conscious of my character and not tempt others to sin.