You know it wasn't that long ago that the words personal responsibility actually meant something and holding yourself accountable to a high level of integrity and character was a goal we all diligently pursued. But then something happened, we entered an era where people were no longer responsible for their own actions or in-actions and it seems like today there is just about always something or someone else that is responsible for what another person does or says. I mean whatever happened to standing up and saying "Yes sir I did it and I am sorry" instead of everyone looking for a way to blame societal influences on what is actually our lack of positive decision making skills or lack of fear of retribution for our poor decision making choices. I call it the "Coffee Is Served Hot" syndrome, the topic of today's Flat Tire Ministries Thought for the Week".
I don't know why it has stuck so hard in my memory, but I remember the day that I heard a news report about a lady that had been awarded an outrageous settlement because she bought a cup of coffee through a drive-thru window and it split on her, resulting in her legs receiving a certain degree of burn. Another time I distinctly recall an incident where a person was awarded mega bucks due to a pickle on a hamburger burning their chin when they bit into their burger and the pickle didn't cooperate with their incisors! I mean really? Wasn't coffee meant to be served hot? (This was before iced coffee, who puts ice in coffee anyway??) And honestly when we order our burgers and fries out at a restaurant who among us plans on their food being nice and cold when it arrives? Whatever happened to blowing on your food before you eat it if it's hot! Both of these are funny to hear and silly to think that people actually won lawsuits over issues like these, yet I believe this era signaled the beginning of the end to personal responsibility and accountability.
Today we live in a society where people sue over holes in the ground that were not marked for the potential danger they create, (look where you are going is what I was always taught). Many times people that have obviously broken the law in some way, form, or fashion either want to blame someone else for their crime, i.e. Flip Wilson's "The devil made me do it!" syndrome, or it seems acceptable today to act like you just didn't do it, "The Who Me??" syndrome. Where does it stop? I believe the better question is "Where does it begin?"
Obviously we as civil adults are the ones that have to be responsible citizens and teach accountability to our children, our co-workers, and those that we meet and pass along the way each day as we travel to work, school, or wherever our journeys take us. The "Well it isn't my problem attitude" sure won't get us going in the right direction and to me it is that exact attitude that has allowed things to get out of whack so bad in the first place. Today I want to challenge each of you to step up your level of "It is my responsibility" attitude. In what ways can you start showing that we each are accountable and in what ways can you demonstrate personal responsibility in public and also when nobody is around watching?
This summer I went out early one morning to paddle around the lake in one of our kayaks. A nice early morning jaunt around the point and then over to the bridge and back home again was the plan. Well the lake, which is dam controlled, had been raised overnight and much to my surprise the abundance of trash floating around me was disgusting at best. Cups, bottles, food cartons, milk cartons, styrofoam cooler pieces, and a wide array of other pieces of human trash littered what otherwise should have been a beautiful example of God's creation. Did I throw any of that trash out onto the lake? No. Am I employed to pick up trash around the lakes, roads, and other areas around my community? No. Is it my responsibility to pick it up? Yes. "Why, that's not fair I didn't make that mess", I can hear it echoing around the globe as people read the words on this page. It is my responsibility because I know it is wrong to leave it laying there, floating around polluting the waterways, and destroying an ecosystem. It didn't matter that no one would have ever known if I picked up that trash or not, I would have and I knew it needed to be picked up. So what did I do, I spent the next hour or so paddling around from one piece of debris to the next strand of trash and placed as much as I could in the hull of my kayak. Was that what I had planned? Was that an attractive sight or smell in my lap? I didn't receive an award for that hour or so that morning and I wouldn't even be sharing this story with each of you right now if it wasn't relevant to our message today, that isn't why I did it in the first place. The bottom line is if we start taking responsibility for the things that we didn't do, but we know need our attention, then it becomes a great deal easier to take personal responsibility for the things we actually are responsible for and the actions we take can much more easily become ours to be held accountable.
James 4:17 tells me, “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” So, if I want to apply that mindset to my everyday walk then it would sound something like this, "Rights right and wrongs wrong". Plan and simple. If you aren't sure what is right and what is wrong there is a guidebook that lays it out clearly, and I'm pretty sure it is written in multiple languages and in a wide assortment of translations. Beyond that isn't it time we started letting our moral compass guide us, and thus teaching those around us what it means to stand up and do the right thing even when it hurts.
In conclusion I want to apologize. Flat Tire Ministries is written to be motivational and inspirational and today's message may not sound too positive in it's delivery. Yet, let me assure you though, I am "positive" that you can make a difference. When each of us starts being accountable to ourselves, our families, and our communities then things will change. It starts with something like throwing your trash in the can and not on the ground. It circulates around each of us looking at our fellow man and realizing that we are our brother's keeper even if we aren't related by blood or marriage to the homeless person standing on the street corner. It changes when we are involved in an accident and we state the obvious, "it was an accident" instead of seeking to drain as much off of the other person as possible. And yes it changes when we step up, admit our sins, admit our shortcomings, and ask a loving God to forgive us for our debts and transgressions. Teach responsibility to your children, if you are a teacher or a coach ingrain in your student athletes the fact that what happens in the game is a direct result of the effort they put into the practice. At work do what needs to be done not just what you are assigned to do. In life realize that it won't get done if you don't do it, it is your fault if you get burnt by a hot pickle, and yes, coffee is served hot.
Have a great week, do something amazing! Change a life forever!
Coach Carter
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