responsibility

When you blame others, you give up your power to change.”


~Author Unknown



Yesterday, I reflected on the way you can let the actions of others impact you in unhealthy ways. Today, I want to spend a few minutes looking at how it hurts you when you don’t take responsibility for your own wrongdoing. How have your actions hurt others? You may have hurt them either intentionally or unintentionally but the result is the same – someone was hurt because of something you did or did not do, said or did not say.

It may seem easier to just brush past it, hoping time will heal all wounds. And yesterday, we looked at the fact that the other person is responsible for their own healing. But when you don’t take responsibility for your own mistakes, you don’t grow. You aren’t living a life of integrity.

I often find myself in a position of helping people work through conflicts. Everyone make mistakes – but not everyone is able to admit them and take responsibility for them. One of the marks of true transformation is not the absence of mistakes but the ability to own them. It is far easier to side step the issue or to place blame, either on the others involved or on the situation than to say ‘I messed up’. It is amazing how healing those few words can be. It’s amazing how they can change the hearts of those we have hurt and even more amazing how they can change us.

Is there anything that you know you need to accept responsibility for? Ask God to reveal to you what He might want you to own and then consider what you might do to rectify it.

Grace and peace,

Deb

Photo by purpleslog http://www.flickr.com/photos/purpleslog/3244332524/