Opus 2016-260: Middle Class Morality: Personal Responsibility

Personal responsibility is an idea whose time has departed, at least if you pay attention to what is going on in our society.  We have become a culture of victims and helpless pawns that need an overpowering central government to protect us from ourselves and the forces around us.

This is not Middle Class Morality (MCM) and it is not Biblical.

The Bible concedes that there are forces we cannot defeat. 

(Ephesians 6:12 KJV)  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

But notice that these forces are spiritual and if you read the context it is only the power of God that can deliver us, not the power of government.

We are responsible for our own behavior and will be held accountable for our behavior.  The obvious, an often quoted, verse is,

(Galatians 6:7 KJV)  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

But there are a lot of other references that talk about personal responsibility.  One I came across in Proverbs,

(Proverbs 26:27 KJV)  Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him.

So get over the class warfare, the victimhood, the calling for government programs to bail you out of your own stupid choices.  Most of the homeless are not on the street because society has conspired against them.  They are there because of choices.  Most people living in poverty in this country have no one to blame except themselves.  They do blame others, but all it does is make them more dependent.

I think of a guy who was “homeless” years ago.  He wanted me to let him sleep in my back yard and of course he wanted me to loan him a sleeping bag.  In the course of our discussion I asked him about family and his comments made it clear that he had lied and cheated so much with everyone who was related to him or called him friend that none of them would trust him any more.  And I was supposed to.  No thanks, my mama didn’t raise any children that foolish.

Personal responsibility is a Biblical, Christian value that used to be MCM.  It was part of what made this country great.  It’s absence will bring us down.

Viva la middle class morality.

To be continued...

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