Genesis 3:6-19
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. 8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14 The Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
cursed are you above all livestock
and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
16 To the woman he said,
“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
in pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be contrary to your husband,
but he shall rule over you.”
17 And to Adam he said,
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.”
Genesis 4:1-7
1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” 2 And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. 3 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6 The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”
We live in a world where personal responsibility is vanishing at breakneck speed. This issue stems from an ever-increasing popular idea that no one can judge someone else. There is no moral authority, and society is the freest when everyone is adhering to their own set of standards and norms. As followers of Christ, what we understand is that there is a very specifically defined set of moral standards, not simply agreed to and arranged by the highest thinkers of society, but created and delivered by God himself who also acts as judge over those expectations. Personal responsibility is as old as the Garden of Eden, and the consequences for ignoring those responsibilities are the same. As our society and culture move away from those Garden of Eden ideals, we lose the sense that each individual is and will be judged, resulting in a culture not built on personal responsibility but on a motivation of feelings and desires.
In the case of men, God has called us to lead, provide, protect, and sacrifice, and all of that hinges on the idea of personal responsibility. Men were designed to be the example and to teach what accepting responsibility looks like.
Develop a clear picture of expectations.
Genesis 2:15–17 “15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.””
Men are suffering from a lack of definition of what a man is supposed to look like. What is right and what is wrong? In the garden, there was a crystal-clear command to have dominion over the earth, multiply, and enjoy every fruit except that of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. There was no ambiguity with God.
The further you move away from the creator, the more ambiguous man’s role becomes, thus making his responsibilities just as ambiguous. Scripture is our textbook of responsibilities and expectations. Just as God entrusted Adam with the responsibility of the Garden, his wife and family, he has clearly laid out through scripture what that is for man after the fall.
It was clear that Adam would be judged by his obedience to God and no one else. Every man in the room must settle in his heart that this is where personal responsibility begins. Men do not develop in ambiguity.
“I think it’s just factually accurate that conservatives and the right have always been more invested in — and more clear about — gender roles. So it’s almost natural that they have a clearer vision of what manhood is and what men should do. But I think they realize that there was an opening here. Young men especially are looking for role models and realizing that they feel unsure and uncomfortable of their place in the world. There’s a young man who I interviewed for the piece, who was like, I just want someone to tell me how to be. If the progressive left is like, We’re not going to tell you that, just be a good person, you don’t need rules. And then young men are like, No, I’m really asking you. I really want rules, actually, the right is happy to give them those rules.” by Sean Illing interviewing Christine Emba Aug 7, 2023, 6:30 AM EDT
Take responsibility for yourself first.
Genesis 3:8–12 “8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.””
Genesis 4:3–7 “3 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6 The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.””
The idea of personal responsibility for our actions is rooted in scripture. Adam attempts to blame Eve, and Eve blames the serpent. When we get to Cain and Abel, God specifically instructs Cain to rule over his own desires with the understanding that there would be consequences for neglecting that responsibility.
We as men have followed the path of Adam, and as individuals we have sinned and bear the responsibility to accept the consequences. Without recognizing that first, we become hypocrites.
Matthew 7:1–5 “1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
This step of accepting personal responsibility is important because it is the framework for teaching biblical morality to the next generation. Adam would be responsible for his sin and the abandoning of his responsibilities. Cain would follow in the same footsteps and be equally held accountable. We continue to see this in the New Testament.
Matthew 25:24–28 “24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents.”
Men are left no room to blame others for our sin or mistakes. The responsibility to do what is right and to avoid sin is the foundational responsibility of man. The ability to live up to that responsibility comes from God.
Personal responsibility should drive us to the cross.
What Adam failed at, Jesus accomplished. Adam sinned and blamed Eve. Jesus never sinned and yet took the responsibility of sin in our place. Jesus took the curse of Adam to the grave and defeated it.
If I take responsibility for my sin, then I become aware that I am incapable by myself to remedy the issue. Our responsibility is now to place our faith in Christ. Christ provides the means to God when we have accepted the circumstance of our sin. Our acknowledgement leads to confession and repentance, which leads to forgiveness and right relationship with God.