Responsibility

“A faithful employee is as refreshing as a cool day in the hot summer time.” Proverbs 25:13

By John E. Schrock, Businessman

Underline the key concepts found in this principle.

A faithful employee is a responsible person. To be responsible is to give account or to be dependable. No wonder Solomon said this kind of person is "as refreshing as a cool day in the hot summer time." A responsible person is one who can be trusted. These kinds of people are hard to find, but when we find them we will notice that they have a different motivation than the average person. They have two motivating factors that spring from their character that makes them responsible.

The first motivator is "out of responsibility." It takes high-quality people to be motivated purely out of responsibility. Because they want to be trusted, they are willing to prove themselves, and they will stand up as pillars on issues. Many times these people receive no benefits in this, and it may even put their reputations on the line. These people are driven by certain ethics and principles that they will fight for, in spite of loss or lack of personal gain. This is a pure motivation. For example, abortion is an issue that may not affect us or our family, but we may fight against it and be willing to risk our friendships or reputation without any personal benefits. This constitutes character ethics and means people are principle-driven. These individuals are fixed - they have a firm constitution that they live by. We call them "men and women of valor," meaning people of value. They can be placed anywhere in our businesses or political arena. They are responsible and can be trusted and are willing to risk their reputation. They take pride in being strong and they don’t care if they are different. They carry the nature of a prophet with eyes fixed on who they are and what mission they are on. They live in a world of faithfully serving others and building their name and legacy.

The second motivator is the "feeling of achievement." This is also a high-quality motivation, and again there are no particular benefits gained by these people. For example, someone who is a millionaire several times over and has all he will ever need could go fishing or travel for the rest of his life. Instead, he keeps on doing business and working every day - he may even venture out into new things and keep on going. Some will say he is greedy. He may be, but it is possible that he simply enjoys being responsible and likes to be an achiever. This person may do what others say can’t be done, simply for the sake of accomplishing it.

Being responsible is more than making a commitment. It is a true calling or value-based belief birthed in a person. It’s a desire or an inner force that holds them accountable to themselves. They do things for the sake of getting them done or for the enjoyment of seeing them done. This makes them true servants. Jesus was a true servant. He had nothing to gain for Himself. He gave up His reputation to build His name. He was humiliated and rejected to gain our trust. He was truly and purely motivated from within. He saw what we were, and took the responsibility of making sure we got the opportunity of being what we could be. It cost Him something, but He now has earned the greatest name ever in the history of mankind, and also in the world to come. He was truly motivated from within. The Father sent Him on a mission because He knew that He was responsible and could be trusted. He was and still is as refreshing as a cool day in the hot summer time. We, too, will be chosen and sent on a mission when we are responsible.

This principle is part of the one year character development program: Foundations For Achievement.

Thoughts to Ponder:
The people who make a difference are not those with the credentials, but those who are responsible..