The Wright Report

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(Jesus speaking) The Scripture says "I want kindness more than I want animal sacrifices." You don't really understand what those words mean. If you understood them, you would not judge those who have done nothing wrong. Matthew 12:7

(Jesus speaking) "Why do you notice the little piece of dust in your friend's eye, but you don't notice the big piece of wood in your own eye? How can you say to your friend, 'Friend, let me take that little piece of dust out of your eye' when you cannot see that big piece of wood in your own eye! You hypocrite! Frist, take the wood out of your own eye. Then you will see clearly to take the dust out of your friend's eye." Luke 6:41-42

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These verses bring up an interesting concept-Personal Responsibility. This is something that we, as a society, seem to be displaying less and less of as time goes on. We're often looking for someone or something to blame for our circumstances-whether it be relationship difficulties, job stress, financial problems or bigger challenges. We could blame our parents, our spouse, our kids, the pastor, our boss, our coworkers, our siblings, our neighbors.....anyone, really. We can also blame our circumstances "I was born poor" or "my family was so dsyfunctional" or "my spouse is such a jerk" or "the company I work for is so bad" etc etc.

The problem with blaming others is that blame keeps us stuck. If I blame my problems on someone else then I will feel powerless to change things and I will feel trapped. Feeling trapped will then lead to feelings of depression and/or anxiety. It's a vicious cycle...something happens, I look for someone to blame, I feel justified in my anger toward the person or situation I blame, and over time, resentment sets in and I begin to feel trapped and like a helpless victim. That cycle repeats until anxiety, depression and eventually despair take over. Does this sound like victorious Christian living to you?!? Surely, this is not how God intended for us to live.

The truth is that we all make choices in life. Sure, sometimes things happen that truly are not our fault-someone else makes a bad decision and we have to deal with the consequences. However, from my years of experience, I have learned that many times, the feelings of being trapped/stuck are of our own making. We make a choice to give up our power to someone else and we stay stuck.

So if we all make choices and we all have personal responsibility for our own lives what are we to do? The bottom line is that if your life is not the way that you want it, you MUST stop blaming others and consider what you are doing to contribute to the problem, especially the feeling of being trapped and powerless. I understand that bad things happen to people. However, because we cannot travel back in time to undo the bad thing that have happened-all we can do is work with the here and now. The present. This is where personal responsibility for our own lives comes into play. We cannot change what has happened to us, but we can change/decide/choose what we will do today.

Maybe it is time to formulate a plan and TAKE ACTION. If you don't take action, how will things ever change?

Some ideas for taking action:

* Call a trusted friend
* Talk to your pastor
* Call a Christian Counselor
* Join a small group Bible study
* Go to a 12 step meeting
* Ask for prayer and be specific
* Talk to your spouse


Take responsibility for your life-this is not a dress rehearsal.