The Gospel Way CatechismSample

QUESTION 7: What Is Our Responsibility?

ANSWER

Our responsibility is to represent God by ruling wisely over his good creation, exercising authority in life-giving ways. We are called not to abandon or abuse our authority, but to serve as stewards.

The concept of “responsibility” has fallen on hard times. A smattering of misuses and abuses of power, authority, and responsibility are found all over the news. You don’t have to search hard to find leaders taking advantage of their entrusted authority and exploiting others for selfish purposes. Every sphere of reality contains degrees of abuse—from the halls of governments to multinational corporations to the organized religions of our day.

In the Western world, we often have a built-in bias against the idea of authority. We see responsibility or authority as bad, or at best, necessary evils. The ideal world would be one without hierarchy, where power is equally shared, where we’d try to minimize authority. Many of our cultural heroes rebel against institutions or authority in one way or another.

The Bible both lines up with and subverts this antiauthoritarian impulse. The Scriptures regularly condemn abuses and misuses of authority and unfulfilled responsibilities that lead to oppression. The power-hungry will be judged. At the same time, the Bible does not view power and authority as inherently wrong or just a necessary evil. On the contrary, the Bible sees both responsibility and authority as good and necessary for human flourishing (Romans 13:1).

When appropriately exercised and not in an authoritarian fashion, taking responsibility in the workplace ought to make things better for people, not worse. When everyone understands their role, taking responsibility in the home should contribute to everyone’s well-being. A parent who exercises authority isn’t doing something wrong but something right. That’s what it means to be a parent. When things are working correctly, responsibility in government is not just a necessary evil but a positive force for good.

Human beings were created to rule. In our fallenness, that calling has been squandered. But that vocation of ruling wisely over the earth can be restored because of Jesus, the one who did for us what we failed to do for ourselves, the one who came to rule the way God always intended. Whenever we sing about Jesus as our Lord and our King, we are saying, This is the one who fulfills God’s original design for humanity. This is the one who rules wisely over this world. This is the one to whom our knees bow. Our tongues confess he is Lord.

The King we worship chose a wooden cross for his throne. He came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28). That’s the kind of servant leadership that Jesus exercised. He is both the Suffering Servant and the conquering King. He is the Servant King. And in that paradox, we see the glory of what God always intended for his people—that we would lead, serve, rule, submit, subdue, and cultivate—in life-giving ways for those around us, and as a reflection of our good and loving God (Colossians 3:23-24). Because of the cross and resurrection of Jesus, we have the promise of new life and the restoration of our original purpose.

Reflection Questions

In what ways have you experienced the effects of people misusing their authority or abandoning the responsibility they should have taken? Both the abuse of authority and the abandonment of authority lead to oppression. Consider times you’ve experienced authority gone bad.

In what spheres of life have you been given responsibility for exercising authority wisely? Consider the difference in being a good or bad steward of the resources and responsibility you’ve been given. When have you failed? When have you succeeded?