The virtue of taking responsibility

Some years ago, a former American astronaut took over as head of a major airline. He was determined to make the airline's service the best in the industry. One day, as the new president walked through a particular department, he saw an employee resting his feet on a desk while the telephone on the desk rang incessantly.

"Aren't you going to answer that phone?" the boss demanded. "No, sir. This isn't my department," answered the employee nonchalantly, apparently not recognizing his new boss. "I work in maintenance."

"Not anymore you don't!" snapped the president.

Recently, author John G. Miller wrote a book called The Question Behind the Question, where he discusses the epidemic of shunning personal responsibility that's so prevalent among people today. His argument is that we'd be much more fulfilled in life if we'd simply take responsibility when we're supposed to.

This is not a new concept. In fact, as you see in today's story of Ananias, it's biblical. As Christians, we're to accept responsibility, even when things don't go the way they should. So whatever your responsibilities are in life, be quick to accept them. When you do, you'll find that while you may get blame when things go wrong, you'll receive praise when they go well!