It is more accurate to say that we are responsible to others rather than responsible for others. Understanding the difference can make a dramatic impact in our lives. How many of us rob ourselves of joy in life because we take on excessive guilt for the spiritual decisions of others? While, if given a second chance, we might do things differently; the fact remains that we cannot take personal responsibility for the decisions and actions of others. We are not responsible for others, but we are responsible to others. So, the question is: “What is our responsibility to others?”
Our number one responsibility toward others is to love them. What is love? Love is the identifying mark of Christ’s followers. Jesus says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34–35). Love is the natural response of one who has been saved. Peter writes, “Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God” (1 Peter 1:22–23). We might look at a gold medal champion and say, “He was born to run!” Similarly, Christians are “born to love!” In fact, love is the proof of our relationship to God. John writes, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7). He goes on to say, “No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:12). Love is an obligation we owe to others. Paul says, “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another…” (Rm. 13:8). Love is a debt always to be paid. When asked which is the greatest commandment, Jesus said, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your souls, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 22:37–39).
Love is active good will. It seeks what is best for the one loved. Ours is a responsibility to love others. This is not easy in a world preoccupied with looking out for number one. Nevertheless, love is the foundation virtue upon which rests all other responsibilities.
— Glen Elliott —