Responsibility

Disclaimer: The following is my thoughts and opinions.  I might lead you astray...but I might not.

Definition of responsibility

 

plural - responsibilities

1. the quality or state of being responsible : such as a: moral, legal, or mental accountability b: reliability, trustworthiness
2. something for which one is responsible: burden <has neglected his responsibilities>

Is duty and responsibility the same thing?  Kind of but not really.  As a culture, we seem to use the words interchangeably.  If something is your duty, then it is your responsibility and vice versa.  But if we look at responsibility based on the first definition, that changes things.




A person can have a sense of duty but not be very responsible.  On the flip side, a person might have a sense of responsibility but deny they have a duty.  Let me illustrate:

"I know I need to take care of that, but I just don't want to."

vs.

"I take care of what I need to take care of."



The first sentence illustrates a person acknowledging a sense of duty but not acting responsibly.  The second sentence illustrates someone acting responsibly, but only toward that which they want to responsible for, thereby denying duty.

Have I picked enough nits yet?

To me, it sounds a lot like the battle between faith and action.  If someone expresses great religious faith but does not act out that faith, is the faith empty?

If you know that you have a duty to some one or some thing but do not act on that duty, you cannot be described as responsible.  This is no better than failing to acknowledge that you have a duty in the first place.

What is worse, the father who never lives up to his responsibilities or the father who believes he has no responsibilities?  Is it worse to see that your father does not care enough to live up to his promises or is it worse to have your father not care enough to even make a promise?  Would you rather have a series of small disappointments or just one big disappointment?


I have been both the first person and the second person.  The question of which is worse is a question without a clearly defined answer.  I do not want to be either; each day I work to be neither.


For any husband and/or father, the question they must ask is what would my children answer if they were asked "Is your dad responsible?"