PART II. 6: Interpersonal Development Competencies---Competency Six (6): Social Responsibility
Competency 6: Social Responsibility
Introduction
The notion of social responsibility when it comes to human beings and their activities within their socio-environmental context (or biotope) is no longer something we can ignore. The issue of the degradation of our forests, oceans, even planet earth as a whole, the pollution of our cities, the various social challenges leading to social unrest with various corollaries such as violence, crime, etc. Even president Lincoln, expressed his concern about the social situation of his time. Before things get out of control, it’s better to start thinking, talking about, and even planning for that.
Definitions
Responsibility
From the dictionary, one of the definitions of responsibility is: “the state or fact of having a duty
to deal with something or of having control over someone [or something with duty of accountability"
accountability]” Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
Accountability
“Fact or condition of being accountable, responsible” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary) for something or having charge over something or someone with the idea of reporting to the supervisor or owner. In other words, accountability is what is expected of a steward who is held responsible for his/her management and is usually asked to report about his/her stewardship.
Sustainability
From the University of Washington (UW), “we define sustainability as the capacity to create and maintain healthy, equitable and diverse communities and ecosystems” (Cauce, 2022, April 5, p. 1). In other words, sustainability is “The ability to [wisely] provide for the needs of the current generation using available resources without adversely affecting [or depriving] future generations” (CFI Team, 2022, October 13, p. 1).
Transparency
The Cambridge English Dictionary defines transparency as “the characteristic of being easy to see
through.” Therefore, transparency refers to integrity, honesty, clear openness in the management of the
resources be them human, social, or economic, for the benefit of all, now (present) and for the future
generations.
The Business Case [or any social activity] for Social Responsibility and Quality
(Retrieved from https://asq.org/quality-resources/social-responsibility)
Various components
In this paper, I would like to consider the various components of my responsibility competency in terms of accountability, transparency, compassion concerning environmental issues and needs.
Accountability to the environment (biotope) and to others
It should be well noted that, as humans, we need to recognize and develop the principle of accountability vis-à-vis environmental issues because this society is our habitat (biotope). Therefore, we should care for it as we care for our homes. It is true that we should not tamper with peoples’ individual freedom. However, we should always keep in mind that, as it is commonly said, “my freedom stops where someone else’s starts.” Because of that, we are therefore accountable to one another and to the social structure where we live. In other words, it is not because one is free that he/she can do anything without considering the freedom of others.
Transparency
Because of the accountability principle, the concept of transparency comes in automatically since accountability to others calls for being open, clear, transparent so that everyone may see, read, verify, and understand by and for himself/herself. Nothing should be opaque, whether in terms of management of behavior be it at the individual or collective levels or that of the resources (human, liquid, and physical/in kind). It’s in that transparency atmosphere that truth prevails, justice reigns, and everyone feels satisfied and belonging. Otherwise, murmuring and complaints will spring up as it happened the first Christians in the Early Church when the Hellenistic widows felt discriminated against when it came to the distribution of supplies while the Jewish widows, apparently were better treated and favored (Ac. 6:1, 2).
Compassion
My compassion and seeking the wellbeing of others is encapsulated in the Lord Christ Jesus’ method by White (1905) which says: “Christ's method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Saviour mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, “Follow Me” (p. 143. 3). From the above quotation, I developed what I call the 10 Cs of ministering to people and their needs, namely: (1) constraining love, (2) courage, (3) contact, (4) Conversation/communication, (5) courtesy, (6) compassion, (7) Care/consolation, (8) confidence, (9) conversion, (10) communion. All these qualities, Jesus exemplified them in His encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well (John 4), and each one of them is packed with meaning to make people feel happy and bring about a more loving, caring, and more humane society.
Social environmental issues and needs
Human beings are to always remember that this world is their habitat, their biotope. Therefore, the need to take care of this planet is to be one of the top priorities we, humans, should focus on. For example, in talking of global warming, we should not be left aloof as some people would do or say that since this world will be destroyed, therefore, they do not get involved in the maintenance and preservation of planet earth. Let me say that, as much as possible, we should be seen and known as people of peace, of concern, care, and of freedom where we derive the notion of religious freedom from. That is what I promote wherever I find myself as an individual or in leadership position (as when I was leading the West-Central Africa Division of Seventh-day Adventists—WAD) in Africa some years ago.
Concerning needs, I view myself as an apostle of the theology/philosophy of the strong assisting the weak. In other words, we should be as God indicated to Cain, “our brothers and sisters’ keepers” (see Gen. 4:9).
What about social responsibility in politics?
As mentioned in one of the competencies (competency #9: Legal and policy issues), in those days (at least in my part of the world), studying law was tant amount to going straight to hell or being a disciple or an agent of Satan. Another area that made people frown had to do with politics. Politicians were seen as agents of the devil because they were seen as corrupt people (full of manipulation, lies, wickedness, etc.). In fairness to those who had such a point of view though, the French philosopher, by the name of Jean-Paul Sartre (1948), in his book Les mains sales, pointed out that reality whereby, in politics, one dirties his/her hands up to the elbow (by the way, the title of Sartre’s book is: Les mains sales meaning: Dirty hands). In fact, one of those politicians in the book openly said: “I will lie whenever necessary . . . Telling lies, I am not the one who invented it . . . It’s not in refusing to tell a lie that we will put an end to telling lies” (Sartre, 1948, p. 197). Moreover, concerning the dirtying of hands, below is the full extract of Sartre’s text: “Since you are afraid of dirtying your hands, well, stay pure! What will that serve, and why do you join us? Purity is the idea of a fakir and a monk. You hide behind it for doing nothing. Doing nothing, remaining stationary, pressing the elbows against the bodies, wearing glows. For me, I have dirty hands. Up to the elbows. I have plunged them in the mess and in blood. What’s next? Do you imagine that one can govern innocently?” (Sartre, 1948, p. 198, translation, mine).
It’s absolutely clear, from the extracts above, one cannot engage in politics without facing some regrettably serious consequences. However, could it be that one could do politics without necessarily dirtying one’s hands? Could there be a difference between politics and politics? Let’s consider some few examples that seem to give some hint.
When I consider how God Himself led Joseph to a political leadership position to the point of making him a blessing not only to Egypt but to the whole of the Mediterranean sea area (Gen. 39-50); when I remember that it was God Himself who drove His people into captivity, and there, He arranged for Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah to whom the Babylonians gave the names of Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego respectively (Dan. 1, 2, & 3), and then put them in leadership positions to the point of making a huge difference between His servants and the rest of Babylonian leaders (Dan. 1:17-20); when I recall that because of Mordecai and Esther, the many Jews in the Medo-persian empire were spared from complete destruction (and there are many more modern examples that could be cited as well), I wonder if we should not make some kind of difference between partisan politics and citizen politics where, the first one is what Sartre (1948) described above, and the latter is made of those who, in their clear conscience, participate in the affairs of the city or the management of the affairs of the city (because that is what politics means etymologically speaking in Greek), the nation or society as a whole in order to contribute to its wellbeing. In fact, I may argue that, because Mordecai was participating in the affairs of the city at the gate that he was able to discover a plot for assassinating King Xerces, and he was able to save the situation (Esther 2:19-23; 6:1-14).
I am fully aware of the Jeffersonian phrase of the separation of State and Church (Boston, 2022, Jan. 20) whereby, “Thomas Jefferson invoked it in an 1802 letter to a Baptist group in Danbury, Conn [or CT] . . . of the First Amendment creating ‘a wall of separation between church and state’” (Boston, 2022, Jan 20, p. 1). I fully agree with this principle in order to avoid unnecessary misunderstanding and confusion as it happened in the Middle Ages. However, from the Biblical perspective, I know that both the church and the state (or the church leader and the state leader) are both God’s servants and obedience is due them (Rom. 13:1; 2Pe 2:10). Therefore, there should be some dialogue, discussion, negotiations, and proper conclusions between both authorities (God's servants) because we all live in the same biotope, the same country, the same society, the same world. Peaceful coexistence calls for that type of interlocution and interactions. That is why, based on the examples above, the concept of citizen politics definitely is different from partisan politics (to avoid all misunderstanding, misinterpretation, and misapplication).
Acquisition of competency
The acquisition of my social responsibility competency started when I was very young (from childhood). Right from my childhood, I always tried to show my responsibility competency (being the oldest child of 12 children with many nephews and nieces) in displaying some virtues around three main concepts: (1) humility in showing kindness and respect to people, (2) help in assisting in whatever way possible, and (3) fairness to those around me (I hate injustice as much as leprosy in the Scriptures). That’s why, from very early age, my personal values were developed, and later, they were more refined with the presence of Christ Jesus in my life. My Christian life boosted, sharpened, and refined my responsibility competency in a very significant way. That’s why, when I started exercising my leadership all the way from the local church, the district, the mission, the conference, the union, and the division as far as the Seventh-day Adventist Church organization is concerned (even at the level of its institutions too because I was also a university chancellor), my focus was always trying to implement the above-listed principles in my vision, mission, and activities (ministry). God always blessed abundantly, and success was obvious.
Conclusion
In engaging in the knowledge industry, every higher education administrator is, therefore, to be very mindful of the unprecedented privilege and responsibility it carries in the management of the resources and their equilibrium (or balance) between the social, the environmental, and the economic implications for the present generation without depleting those resources in ignoring or neglecting the future generations. In short, we should always remember that we are responsible for our lives as individuals as well as for others in our communities (collectively) as well as those to come, and we are responsible for the maintenance and preservation of our planet earth, our global village, our habitat, and our biotope. This is our solemn, sacred stewardship in all aspects of our social privilege and responsibility as fellow human beings!
For moral and spiritual purposes, there needs to be a difference between partisan politics and citizen politics in order to allow all to play their needed roles in the affairs of the city, the nation, and society at large because we are also responsible politically speaking, and we owe that to humanity.
Reference
Boston, R. (2022, Jan. 20). Separation of Church and State: The 'So called' principle that has been protecting our rights since 1791. Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Retrieved from https://www.au.org/the-latest/articles/separation-of-church-and-state-the-so-called-principle-that-has-been-protecting-our-rights-since-1791/#:~:text=Separation%20Of%20Church%20And%20State%3A%20The%20‘So-Called’%20Principle,church%20and%20state%20”%20while%20questioning%20an%20attorney.
Cauce, A. M. (2022, April 5). Definition of sustainability. University of Washington (UW). Retrieved from https://green.uw.edu/policy/definition-sustainability.
CFI Team. (2022, October 13). Sustainability. CFI. Retrieved from https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/esg/sustainability/.
HRSG. CA. (2022). Retrieved from https://www.hrsg.ca.
Sartre, J. P. 1948. Les mains sales. France: Gallimard.
White, E. G. (1905). The ministry of healing, Retrieved from https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p135.657&index=0.
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