Government Responsibility?
In the news, we hear about government responsibility. People expect the government to give them one thing or another, or to fix this or that. Sometimes we hear about corporate responsibility. This is the idea of corporations not polluting the environment and giving back to the community. What of personal responsibility? There is very little call for such a thing. Why is this? It is easier to blame one’s troubles on the government than to take personal responsibility.
In the final judgment, there will be no corporate or government responsibility. There will only be personal responsibility. What did I do with the life that God gave me? How did I use it? Did I obey God’s will? Jesus speaks of those who visited the sick and imprisoned, fed the hungry, clothed the naked, and helped the stranger. He said, “inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40). Jesus did not say, “inasmuch as thegovernment did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.” Jesus did not say, “inasmuch as the company did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.” Jesus did not even say, “inasmuch as thechurch did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.”
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10). The government will not stand before God in judgment; the company will not stand before God in judgment; the church will not stand before God in judgment. Each individual will stand before God in judgment. Are we going about our Father’s business?