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Rev Sarah Nyathi
RESPONSIBILITY and accountability is a trait that is necessary for one to make a success of life’s endeavours. Whether one is a professing Christian or not the importance of being responsible and accountable cannot be over emphasised. Throughout the record of the sacred writings of Christianity (The Holy Bible) it is observed that God expected His people to be accountable and responsible right from the inception of the human race in the Garden of Eden to date. Responsibility has not become outdated or antiquated.

Genesis 2:15-20
“And the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend, guard and keep it.
And the Lord commanded the man saying, you may freely eat of every tree of the garden;
But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, blessing and calamity you shall not eat; for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die”.
And Adam gave names to all the livestock and to the birds of the air and to every (wild) beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper meet (suitable, adapted, complementary) for him.
Genesis 3:12-13

And the man said, “the woman whom you gave to be with me. She gave me (fruit) from the tree, and I ate”.
And the Lord God said to the woman, “what is this you have done”? And the woman said, “the serpent beguiled (cheated, outwitted and deceived me) and I ate”.

Proverbs 6:6-8
Go to the ant, you sluggard, consider her ways and be wise..
Which having no chief, overseer or ruler, provides her food in the summer and gathers her supplies in the harvest.
Being responsible infers taking care of your duties, answering to your actions, being accountable and above all being trustworthy. Accountability is also important if one is to be responsible therefore we need to define accountability. Accountability is answering to somebody else for your actions or whereabouts.

The importance of responsibility
Every person born under the sun has been given a sphere of responsibility. We must learn to take our responsibilities very seriously. It is a core value of living honourably. Living honourably entails having a good name. In modern times people concern themselves with corrupt and dubious amassing of wealth, material possessions and fame at the expense of having a good name. Conversely, the Bible states that a good name is more important than gold.
Responsibility assists you to be dependable when you have been given tasks and in the process build a good track record that paves the way to promotion and elevation. Those who cannot be depended upon usually do not amount to much in life. The ant is a fine example of responsibility “Which having no chief, overseer or ruler, provides her food in the summer and gathers her supplies in the harvest.”

Proverbs and maxims on responsibility
I came across some interesting proverbs and maxims on responsibility that I have taken to heart and these have assisted me in my Christian walk.
“If everyone sweeps in front of his door, all the world would be clean.” — Unknown
“Responsibility educates.” — Wendell Phillips
“The price of greatness is responsibility.” – Winston Churchill
“No man was ever endowed with a right without being at the same time saddled with a responsibility.” — Gerald Johnson
“Man is still responsible. His success lies not with the stars but himself.” —Frank Williams

All of these accomplished individuals agree on one thing, that responsibility is very crucial.
If Christians were to take their responsibilities seriously in their churches, places of work/business, institutions of learning, family life and where ever else they may be the world would be a different place.
I will discuss briefly the different types of responsibility.

Human responsibility
This is a corporate responsibility of all human beings born on the face of the earth. None of us is exempt for this duty, it is a universal responsibility of every human being regardless of jurisdiction, nationality, religion, age or sex. This responsibility necessitates taking care of the environment, respecting nature, respecting yourself and laws that exist in our nations. We also respect others, treat people justly, and display honour for living things.

It is my observation that this form of responsibility has been reduced in our nation and in the City of Bulawayo particularly. This is evidenced by the wanton littering, dumping and disregard for cleanliness in public spaces. Of concern to me is the littering that is evident where there are groups of people e.g. markets, flea market stalls during weekends, hospitality establishments that have no litter collection strategies as people consume delicacies from these businesses. Above all the general public who no longer understand that trash should be thrown into the bins provided throughout the city (although they are, they have been provided). This lack of human responsibility not only plagues the adults (parents) but has also infiltrated to the younger generation who also litter with impunity.

As the saying goes “if everyone were to sweep in front of his door the world would be a clean place”. I hail the efforts of the Mayor of Bulawayo, Councillor Martin Moyo, the Director of Health Services and the City Health Department who have launched B-SWIP — the Bulawayo Solid Waste Improvement Platform a committee that has been created to form partnerships between the City Health Department and various stakeholders (corporate world, churches, small businesses and the general public) to help Bulawayo to become a clean city again.

It is my prayer that all residents of the city will take up the challenge and improve in their human responsibility by reducing littering and finding ways as individuals to ensure that Bulawayo becomes a clean city again

Religious responsibility
Religious responsibility is demonstrated when we do not deliberately cause other persons to sin. Matthew 18:6 — states that “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in and acknowledge and cleave to Me to stumble and sin (that is, who entice him or hinder him in right conduct or thought), it would be better (more expedient and profitable or advantageous) for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be sunk in the depth of the sea (Amp).

The Bible is explicit that it is our responsibility not to cause our brothers/sisters to sin.
There are many things that we do and say that cause other people to sin. It is my contention that corruption will continue unabated as long as people cause each other to sin. A fine example of this are people who give bribes causing their brothers who receive bribes to sin. This would be true with all other forms of corruption, one person is causing another to sin through their actions. Our manner of life and speech can also cause others to sin.

On a lighter but very pertinent note, I wonder how many brothers were caused to sin with their eyes, mouths and minds during the recent “mini-skirt demonstrations”. I wonder if the march achieved the desired results or whether the brothers were caused to sin even more when the streets of Harare were thronged by sisters in mini-skirts. As believers practise religious responsibility we will not cause our fellowmen to sin.

Religious responsibility is also demonstrated as we respect spiritual authority in the form of our pastors, leaders, keeping the houses of God clean, whether they are rented premises or they are edifices built for worship. Many secular organisations are reluctant to hire their premises to Christians because of poor human and religious responsibility displayed by believers. A good yardstick to measure whether you are practising religious responsibility is whether you leave a place in the same state that you found it, or better.

Believers also need to practice religious responsibility by being accountable about their whereabouts to the churches they call home and to the leaders they submit to. It is fashionable in modern times in Christian circles for believers to disappear for weeks on end from their usual places of fellowship without explanation or excuse. Responsible people are accountable on their whereabouts. This type of responsibility was displayed by Nehemiah who approached the king who was his boss about his desire to rebuild the ruined walls of Jerusalem. He told the king where he was going, what he was going to do, the period of his absence and when he was likely to return.

When practising religious responsibility we are also accountable and responsible for our actions. We stop blaming others and act maturely by facing squarely to the consequences of our actions. It is commonplace these days to find people who fail to take responsibility for their actions.

It is my contention that if as believers and as Zimbabweans we are to see some improvement in the political and economic circumstances we find ourselves in, it has to begin with increased responsibility by every citizen. We need to stop passing the buck and grow in responsibility and accountability.

Reverend Sarah Nyathi is the co-founder of Harvest House International Churches, founder and president of Maximised Lifestyle International, the women’s ministry of Harvest House International Churches which offers a holistic ministry to women encompassing the spirit, soul and body — “Building a balanced woman of excellence”