Category: Individual Responsibility

Individual Responsibility, Living in the Image of God

Individual Responsibility Regarding Appreciation

Living in the Image of God M04S04

Christ teaching, based on his interactions with healing recipients, conveys a message that appreciation and public testimony regarding appreciation are important in human interactions and relationships. When God calls a person to provide goods or service to benefit another in need, he also calls the beneficiary to receive the goods and service with appreciation. He calls the beneficiary to appreciate the human provider and appreciate God in thankful recognition that he positioned and empowered others to assist as they can. An appreciating beneficiary could motivate others that in turn motivate chains of more others; thus, generating a network of provider-receiver interactions growing in time and space.

M04S04 Individual Responsibility Regarding Appreciation 15:45

This study focuses on understanding the responsibility of the beneficiary in a call to compassion. Recall that the beneficiary is the receiver of goods and service provided by others to alleviate his or her need. The beneficiary has a responsibility to appreciate the goods and service, appreciate the human provider, and appreciate God for empowering the provider. Further, every person has a responsibility to appreciate others for their intrinsic value as potentially God’s representative in a future human interaction.

We discuss Christ teaching regarding appreciation, based on his interactions with healing recipients. The bible provides accounts of his interactions with the woman healed of persistent bleeding, a man healed of leprosy, and another man freed from demons. His interactions regarding their healing convey a message that appreciation and public testimony regarding appreciation are important in human interactions and relationships. His teaching leads to an understanding that when God calls a person to provide goods or service to benefit another in need, he also calls the beneficiary to receive the goods and service with appreciation. He calls the beneficiary to appreciate the benefactor (that is, the human provider) and appreciate God in thankful recognition that he positioned and empowered the benefactor to provide goods or service to benefit the needy.

An appreciating beneficiary could motivate others that in turn motivate chains of more others. If you appreciate a person, you would be polite to them; respectful of them; and attentive to their needs and communication. Also, you would appreciate God for connecting you with them and empowering them to interact with you. You would be motivated to be good to them and others and, as a result, motivate others that motivate chains of more others. Thus, appreciation of a single act of compassion could generate a network of provider-receiver interactions growing in time and space.

Furthermore, God calls every person to appreciate others for their intrinsic value as potentially his representative in future human interactions. Therefore, every person has an individual responsibility to appreciate others for their intrinsic human value; appreciate goods or service received from others; appreciate the human provider of such goods or service; and appreciate God for empowering others to participate in positive human interactions and relationships.

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Individual Responsibility, Living in the Image of God

Individual Responsibility in Call to Compassion

Living in the Image of God M04S03

Christ teaching in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats and an earlier message through Prophet Isaiah provide an understanding of the individual responsibility in a call to compassion. When God directs a person to an opportunity to provide goods or service to benefit others in need, he calls the person to recognize the need, care about the needy, commit to contributing goods or service to alleviate the need, and persevere in seeking to contribute. He promises blessing for those that complete their responsibility in a call to compassion but punishment for those that decline theirs.

M04S03 Individual Responsibility in Call to Compassion 19:41

We discuss Christ teaching in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:31–46) and an earlier message through Prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 58:7–9) to understand the individual responsibility in a call to compassion. As we discuss in previous studies (e.g., Responsibility in Call to Compassion), a call to compassion is when God directs a person’s attention to the need of another person less able to provide for the need. Through the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, Christ defines the individual responsibility in a call to compassion: recognize the need and needy, care about the needy, be motivated by care to commit to contributing goods or service to alleviate the need, and persevere in seeking to contribute.

He uses the parable to provide a message of people serving God by serving other people. He categorizes as righteous, people that serve God by providing goods or service to benefit other people in need: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” [Matthew 25:40]. Also, he uses the parable to explain that a person declines a call to serve God when he or she declines assistance to another person in need: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me” [Matthew 25:45]. Regarding a call to compassion, the phrase “the least of these” means the needy (i.e., a person that has a need but is less able to provide for the need).

God promises blessing for those that complete their responsibility in a call to compassion: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world” [Matthew 25:34] (also, see his promise in Isaiah 58:8–9). In contrast, he promises punishment for the others (i.e., those that decline responsibility in a call to compassion): “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” [Matthew 25:41].

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Individual Responsibility, Living in the Image of God

Individual Responsibility for Positive Reputation

Living in the Image of God M04S02

Through the salt and light teaching, Christ calls every person to build positive reputation by making positive impact in human interactions. God creates every person to do this, having granted them an intrinsic capability to represent his presence and impact in interactions with others. The capability defines an intrinsic human value that Christ likens to the saltiness of salt and calls every person to apply their human value towards responsibilities to self and others. Thus, every person has an individual responsibility to build positive reputation by making positive impact.

Individual Responsibility for Positive Reputation 12:30

We discuss Christ teaching in “Salt of the Earth” and Parable of the Talents: to understand the individual responsibility to build positive reputation by making positive impact in human interactions. God creates every person with an intrinsic capability to represent his presence and radiate his impact in interactions with others. He creates every person with the capability to enhance and preserve goodness in human interactions, similar to salt enhancing and preserving goodness in food.

This capability defines an intrinsic human value that Christ likens to the saltiness of salt [Matthew 5:13]: “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” That is, God’s purpose is for every person to build positive reputation by making positive impact in human interactions. Those that don’t have no value except to be discarded as eternal trash.

Through the “salt of the earth” analogy, Christ calls every person to apply their human value to perform responsibilities to themselves and to others. Also, he calls every person to make their human value visible and available by making positive impact in human interactions, like a light source positioned to give light to everyone, so that others will benefit and thank God for their experience. God rewards those that apply their human value to radiate positive impact and punishes those that don’t.

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Individual Responsibility, Living in the Image of God

Individual Responsibility Series

Living in the Image of God M04S01

We begin a study series to understand God’s purpose for a person in terms of individual responsibility. In the Parable of the Net and Parable of the Weeds, for example, Christ describes the basis for binary categorization of people as righteous or wicked during final judgment. He describes fishermen categorizing fish as good fish or bad fish based on their judgment of the fish as fit or unfit to fulfill their purpose. Similarly, the grain farmer categorizes farm proceeds as wheat or weed based on their judgment of the proceeds as fit or unfit to fulfill their purpose. These parables convey a message that God categorizes people as righteous or wicked based on his judgment of their living as showing themselves fit or unfit to fulfill his purpose. God’s purpose for a person defines the individual responsibility.

Individual Responsibility Series 17:04

Our Living in the Image of God program continues this year (2023) with a study series on understanding God’s purpose for a person in terms of the individual responsibility. We will discuss Christ teaching and other human-interaction examples from the bible to understand God’s purpose in specific events in terms of the individual responsibility for a person in such events.

The series begins with understanding the basis for binary categorization of people as righteous or wicked, as Christ describes in the Parable of the Net and Parable of the Weeds. In the Parable of the Net, fishermen categorize fish as good fish or bad fish based on their judgment of the fish as fit or unfit to fulfill their purpose for fish. Similarly, in the Parable of the Weeds, the grain farmer categorizes farm proceeds as wheat or weed based on their judgment of the proceeds as fit or unfit to fulfill their purpose for wheat.

The parables convey an understanding of the basis for the binary categorization of people at final judgment. God categorizes as righteous, people that show themselves fit to fulfill his purpose for them based on his judgment of their living. In contrast, he categorizes as wicked, people that show themselves unfit to fulfill his purpose for them based on his judgment of their living. Therefore, God’s purpose for a person determines his categorization of the person.

His purpose for a person in a given event defines the person’s individual responsibility for the event. He is pleased with those that show themselves fit to fulfill their individual responsibility and displeased with those that show themselves unfit: based on his judgment of their living. The bible study series will seek to understand the individual responsibility in specific events based on Christ teaching and human-interaction examples from the bible regarding such events.

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