What does the Bible say about personal responsibility?

Numbers 1:50-51“Put the Levites in charge of the Tabernacle of the Covenant, along with all its furnishings and equipment. They must carry the Tabernacle and all its furnishings as you travel, and they must take care of it and camp around it. Whenever it is time for the Tabernacle to move, the Levites will take it down. And when it is time to stop, they will set it up again.”

The Bible says we are to fulfill our responsibilities wholeheartedly. This will show that we care about doing a job well and completing an assignment.

Galatians 6:7-8Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.

The Bible says that we are responsible for our own behavior and will bear the consequences for how we live.

Genesis 3:12-13The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”

The Bible says we are accountable for our own choices and actions. Unfortunately, Adam’s first response when confronted by God for his sin was to blame someone else. God does not accept our attempts to shift blame. We are responsible for what we have done.

Matthew 27:24Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere and that a riot was developing. So he sent for a bowl of water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. The responsibility is yours!”

In attempting to avoid his own responsibility, Pilate condemned Jesus to death, thus condemning himself before God. Trying to avoid our responsibilities will only lead to trouble.