There’s a story told of a psychologist who decided to visit a local prison for the purpose of conducting interviews with each inmate. He was working to complete his dissertation and the interviews would provide a basis for his thesis. As he interviewed the prisoners, he asked each of them the same question: “Why are you here?” Not one of those incarcerated individuals looked him in the eye and said, “I’m here because I messed up and it was my fault.” They all offered the same answer: “I was framed. I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’m the victim.” At the end of the process, the psychologist came to an astonishing conclusion. He determined that the largest group of innocent people he had ever encountered was in prison. The problem wasn’t the crime they committed…the problem was their unwillingness to accept responsibility for what they did.

There’s not a man or woman alive that hasn’t messed up. We’ve all done things wrong. We’ve all made stupid decisions. We’ve all made mistakes. But there’s a life-changing reality that must be accepted if we’re going to experience true victory and blessing in our lives. We must understand that growth and maturity occur only when we begin to take responsibility for who we are and for what we’ve done.

In Galatians 6:5, the Apostle Paul was very clear concerning personal responsibility. He said, “For we are each responsible for our own conduct.” This truth is simply not understood by many today. There are individuals in their 40’s and 50’s who still blame their parents for doing wrong things or failing to do right things when they were children. The issue with this mentality is that it reinforces a false helplessness. When we believe in our hearts that our lives are hopelessly doomed because of the past, or people, or circumstances, we give away our ability to bring about real change in our lives. While it’s true that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, we alone are responsible for who we become. Here’s the real question: “At what age will we figure out that we are responsible for who we are, where we are and what’s happening in our lives?”

Everything in your life depends on your ability to be responsible for yourself and your future. Every individual on this earth wakes up in the morning and decides the course of their day. We must determine the kind of person we want to be. It’s not Mom and Dad’s choice. It’s not our spouse’s choice. It’s our choice. These are the questions we’re faced with every single day:

Will I take personal responsibility for my choices?
Will I take personal responsibility for my attitude?
Will I take personal responsibility for my beliefs?

We must never forget that the most important ability is responsibility. Why? Because nothing positive will ever occur in your life until you learn to take responsibility for the person that you are and are becoming. You will never make a lasting impact on others until you take responsibility for the role that you fill in each of their lives. Nothing significant happens until someone steps forward and says…

You can count on me to be the husband that God desires for me to be.
You can count on me to be the wife that God desires for me to be.
You can count on me to be the employee that God desires for me to be.
You can count on me to be the church member that God desires for me to be.

We live in a culture that obsessively seeks out what others can do for them. Don’t ever forget that the best helping hand you’ll ever find is at the end of your own arm. Take responsibility for your own life, your own choices, your own circumstances. The alternative is to live a pointless life, filled with excuses. That’s a prison no one wants to live in.