I’ve always been cautious when it comes to responsibility. I fear that one day I will have way more responsibilities than I can handle. When I was in college I only owned plastic plants, now we own one real plant, and that sounds like a lot. Pets seem like a huge responsibility, so I own no pets, though my wife wants one. Imagine having the responsibility of another living thing. Clearly, I have no kids yet and we aren’t expecting any soon. I measure my responsibilities slowly and I take them in one by one. Part of it is I want to enjoy my life without having to worry about much.

In the story of Matthew 27th and 28th, we see Jesus being crucified. His crucifixion is a result of a group of people avoiding responsibility. First, the chief priests who after they paid Judas take no responsibility whatsoever. Judas is convicted and he tried to repent for the innocent blood he betrayed and they respond with a careless, “That’s your responsibility.” Imagine the lack of compassion on behalf of these priests. Pilate, later on, does the same thing. He has Jesus’ fate in his hands and instead of going against the crowd all he says as the crowd uproars are “I am innocent of this man’s blood, it is your responsibility!” There is no sort of accountability. He had the power to say no, but he decided to take a step back and say, “my hands are clean.”

As we think of all the responsibilities that we have, things can get overwhelming, but your number one priority and responsibility is to be a child of God. That is your identity and being in communion and relationship with God is what you are to do. Before thinking of other responsibilities you have to think about connecting with God. So, today I want to encourage you to take time to connect with Him. Don’t let being busy keep you away from Him.