Responsibility
In the movie Knock on Any Door (1949), Humphrey Bogart’s closing court argument is an emotional appeal to grant mercy to his client. Although Bogart doesn’t deny his client’s guilt, he skillfully shifts the blame on society at large.
The murder was not a fault of the murderer, but of his environment. Evil is seen as a contaminate imposed on the individual, just like an illness or a disease. Since moral behavior can be corrupted by circumstances beyond a person’s capability, how could he be held accountable? To eliminate evil, you must change the environment as Bogart asserts:
“Until we do away with the type of neighborhood that produced this boy, ten will spring up to take his place, a hundred, a thousand. Until we wipe out the slums and rebuild them, knock on any door and you may find Nick Romano.”
From the beginning of the Bible, it teaches us that man is morally responsible for his acts. Adam and Eve lived in a perfect environment. But, even under this ideal condition, both sinned.
“When the woman saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food, was attractive to the eye, and was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some of it to her husband who was with her, and he ate it” (Genesis 3:6).
The Devil challenged Eve. Was God just daring you? Was He just tempting you? Eve saw the fruit as tasty because it was attractive and therefore desirable. So she ate it. Adam simply obeyed Eve and ate too. Where does sin come from?
“Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He himself tempts no one. But each one is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires. Then when desire conceives, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is full grown, it gives birth to death” (James 1:13-15).
Christ tells clearly in Mark 7:20-23:
“He [Jesus] said, ‘What comes out of a person defiles him. For from within, out of the human heart, come evil ideas, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, evil, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, and folly. All these evils come from within and defile a person.’”
Sinners often play the victim instead of owning up to responsibility. Eve blamed the devil, Adam blamed God for giving him Eve. Living continually as a victim only ends in despair and nihilism. Victims live in the unchangeable past – there is no future for them. Christians face the future with faith.
Man depends on men for solutions to problems, be it the next election cycle or the next strong man. But moral problems, sin, cannot be solved politically. Moral problems require moral responses. Revenge or reparation cannot fix a victim attitude. Only God’s way of life can do that.
True change means becoming responsible before God. We must stop making excuses for ourselves and for others. The victim mentality replaces duty with rights. Accepting responsibilities and duties before God leads to a hopeful future.
John Grabara
