When you commit to a task and later find that you are unable to do it, what will you do? Will you run away from it, or face it head on?
When I was in middle school, I evaded a task that was given to me. At that time, I was one of the best students in our school. I always took first place on the examinations, and I did everything with a sense of confidence. The head teacher liked me very much and never scolded me. As a result, I began to feel invincible, that I could never do anything that would make me the object of criticism. But that suddenly changed one day when the teacher discovered that I was trying to evade a task she had given to me.
One morning, our teacher announced that it was our class’s turn to give a speech under the national flag the following week, and that one student from our class would be chosen to make a speech after the flag raising ceremony. I was not surprised when our head teacher asked me to give the speech, and because I felt that I could do it easily, I promised her that I would do it. But the dean always chose the topic for the speech, and so I went to ask him what the topic would be. Because final exams were coming soon, he wanted me to speak on, “Sharing your learning methods with others.” It was a difficult topic for me, and even though I always did well in speaking, I had no special learning methods at that time. I only knew that I got good grades because I was always attentive to the teacher and I did my homework carefully and on time. So, I felt I couldn’t give a speech on that topic and tried to evade the task.
I returned to my classroom trying to think of a student who would be suitable to give the speech. I knew our head teacher was always very kind and never forced us to do anything that we didn’t want to do, and if I found a suitable classmate, I felt that she wouldn’t force me to give the speech.
Suddenly, a friend came and asked what I was worried about. I knew that she also had good grades and was good at making speeches. I thought that she must have many learning methods to share with others because she was not good at studying at first, but later excelled.
So, I told her the whole story, and begged her to undertake the task. She said that she would, and so we went to our head teacher’s office together. I told our teacher that I was not the right person to speak on the topic the dean had chosen, and that my classmate was prepared to give the speech. But suddenly, my classmate changed her mind, saying that she had never received the best grades and that all the students in our grade knew that I was the best student. Because of that, she felt embarrassed to share about learning methods, and she knew that the other students wouldn’t accept her speech. I was shocked and tried to persuade her to give the speech anyway, but she refused, right in front of our head teacher.
As a result, our head teacher got angry and scolded both of us, but especially me for evading the task she had given me. Tears came to my eyes because of her scolding, and then she told me that if I was ever going to excel in school, I had to undertake any task given to me and try my best to fulfill it without giving the task to others. She said she was disappointed with me because I evaded things when I needed to face them as a sensible and conscientious student. I felt very sad that I had disappointed her and promised that I would go ahead and fulfill my task.
After thinking about this for a while, I had an idea. I immediately went to the dean’s office and told him that one student’s learning methods might be not suitable for another student, and if I shared only my learning methods, they might be misled. Because final exams were coming, I asked him to reconsider the topic, and allow me to speak on “The importance of studying.” I told him that regardless of the method we use, we need to study hard and learn all we can. He agreed with my proposal, and the following week, I gave the speech. Afterward, our head teacher smiled at me and said: “If you try your best, you will always find a way to fulfill the task, so don’t try to evade it.”
This experience made me realize that if you are given a task, you must fulfill it, no matter what difficulties you meet. Evading it or trying to shift responsibility to others is the worst thing you can do. When you try your best, you will always find some creative methods to solve the problems and fulfill the task. Since that time, I have tried to never neglect a task given to me, because taking responsibility for a task is always better than trying to avoid it.
Additional Comments – At one time or another, we’ve all tried to “pass the buck,” and many of us have actually succeeded in doing it. I suspect we have all heard the story of the student who failed to show up in class with his homework completed, and when asked by the teacher about it, the student replied, “The dog ate it!!” The kid’s poor dog had the buck passed on to him. Too bad it wasn’t a bone!!!
Passing the buck goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. When God asked Adam why he had eaten the fruit from the forbidden tree, he responded, “The woman You gave me made me eat it” (Gen. 3:12). Notice, the buck was passed to the “woman” and then ultimately to God, because it was God who gave him Eve in the first place. And, like Adam, I suppose, we have all played the “blame game,” which is another way of “passing the buck,” or the “blame.”
Why is it often so hard to take responsibility? I suppose in large part, it is because of fear, and more specifically, fear of failure. I usually take it another step and suggest that “fear of failure” is not the root issue, but it’s the “fear of rejection” that comes as a result of our failure. Adam was afraid of what God would think about his “failure,” and then was ultimately worried about the “rejection” that might ensue. Most of us are just following in Adam’s footsteps.
Realizing that “We have all fallen short of God’s perfect righteousness” (Rom. 3:23), why is it so difficult to be honest with God and admit our failures? It’s because of fear, fear of rejection by God and by others. After David’s adultery and his deception was uncovered, he reflected on the many months of trying to hide his sin. Here is what he said, “When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away as I groaned all day long. For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me, and my vitality was drained away as in the summer heat. Finally, I acknowledge my sin to Thee, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,’ and He forgave the guilt of my sin” (Ps. 32:3-5). In that sincere and heartfelt prayer, David went from fear to forgiveness, and from the fear of rejection to the joy of acceptance. Maybe some of you need to follow in David’s footsteps by admitting your sin so that you can experience the peace of God and find joy in His complete forgiveness and acceptance.
