Job 1:5 reads:
And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.
As a man, I like to be responsible for myself. It’s actually pretty straightforward. When I screw up, I apologize (or should apologize), and when I succeed, I get to take the credit. However, it gets tougher when it’s other people. If someone in my household makes a mistake, that’s their problem, right? Perhaps not.
When I own a business, I get to be responsible and accountable for the actions of everyone on my team. Yes, my team gets to account to me, but ultimately it is me that must be responsible for everything that goes on under my roof. Even though I’m not the one who missed the mark, I’m the one who has to clean it up and (if necessary) pay the price.
As a responsible man, I need to look at my family the same way. I’m responsible and accountable to God for everything that happens in my household. My marriage is screwed up? It doesn’t really matter whose fault it is; I’m responsible to God for what happens. My kids are wayward? The blame might belong squarely with them, but I’m still responsible.
The interesting part of taking responsibility is that it is liberating. I now know that if it’s messed up, I have to fix it. As a man, I like to fix things. If my household has tension because two of my kids are fighting, then I must be the one to step in, carefully manage relationships, and get things back working.
I need to be more like Job. I need to be the one sacrificing the hard-earned fruits of my effort to ensure that my household is in order. I need to be the one going around cleaning up the messes, or directing others to ensure things are tidied up. I don’t get to be a tyrant, but rather, I must figure out how to make things right.
I pray for the Lord to give me wisdom and strength to do all this properly, and to follow Christ’s example throughout.
