All humanity has a moral obligation under God to one another, whether as national leaders, ministers, spouses, parents, children, believers or simply as human beings. This moral obligation is shown in the Scriptures to also include the animal kingdom and the environment.
The responsibility of national leaders
To reward good and punish evil
Romans 13:3–4 See also Proverbs 16:12
For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Then do what is right, and you will have his approval. For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not carry the sword in vain. He is God’s servant, an agent of retribution to the wrongdoer.
To administer justice
Proverbs 31:4–5, Proverbs 31:8–9 See also Deuteronomy 27:19; Proverbs 14:31, Proverbs 17:5, Proverbs 29:4, Proverbs 29:14
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to crave strong drink, lest they drink and forget what is decreed, depriving all the oppressed of justice.
Open your mouth for those with no voice, for the cause of all the dispossessed. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the cause of the poor and needy.
The responsibility of Christian leaders
To care for believers
1 Peter 5:2 See also John 21:15–17; Acts 20:28
Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them not out of compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed, but out of eagerness;
To preach, teach and handle the Scriptures properly
2 Timothy 2:15, 2 Timothy 4:2 See also Ezekiel 33:6
Make every effort to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman who accurately handles the word of truth.
Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction.
The responsibility of those who are married
To love each other
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her
In this way they can train the young women to love their husbands and children,
To mutually honour each other
Ephesians 5:22; 1 Peter 3:7 See also 1 Peter 3:1
Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.
Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as a delicate vessel, and with honor as fellow heirs of the gracious gift of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.
The responsibility of parents to their children
Ephesians 6:4 See also Deuteronomy 6:7; Proverbs 13:24, Proverbs 22:6; 1 Timothy 3:4; Titus 2:4
Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath; instead, bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
The responsibility of children to honour their parents
Ephesians 6:1–3 See also Deuteronomy 5:16
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (which is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on the earth.”
The responsibility of every believer to represent Jesus Christ in the world
Matthew 5:13, Matthew 5:14, Matthew 28:19–20 See also Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its savor, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
The responsibility of every human being to love God and others
Luke 10:27 parallels Matthew 22:37–39, Mark 12:29–31 See also Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18; 1 Samuel 20:17; Proverbs 14:31; Matthew 5:43–45; Luke 10:28–37
He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
The responsibility to exercise dominion over the animal kingdom and creation
Genesis 1:26; Proverbs 12:10 See also Genesis 9:2; Exodus 23:5; Deuteronomy 22:4, Deuteronomy 22:6–7, Deuteronomy 25:4; Psalm 8:6–8
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it.”
A righteous man regards the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are only cruelty.
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.