Vintage Virtue: Responsibility

At some point in our lives, we’ve all littered, whether it was a small unnoticed gum wrapper falling from the floor mat as we open our car door, or the wind tearing away our extra napkins from our grasp as we take a bite into our summer festival favorite and choose to continue to enjoy rather than giving chase.  Perhaps unintentional and seemingly minor, the litter becomes the responsibility of others to clean up and harmful to the earth for which God has charged us to take care.

Similarly, the responsibilities we all have that we unintentionally neglect or make excuses for not doing, can place mistrust and harbor resentment in relationships and allow us to shy away from a virtue given to us by God that we must cultivate. In this manner, we have not been honest with ourselves and life can fall apart before we see the pieces falling away.

Take time to reflect on your responsibilities to your family (financially, emotionally, etc.), to your work, and in other areas of your life; pray on God’s guidance and support in your efforts. As written in the gospel of Luke, “If you're honest in small things, you'll be honest in big things; If you're a crook in small things, you'll be a crook in big things. If you're not honest in small jobs, who will put you in charge of the store?” (16:10 The Message) Make a commitment to do what is yours to do—God is with you!