At times we may be prone to think that what others do is none of our business. After all, they are adults and can make their own decisions. However, a feeling of responsibility for others is at the heart of discipleship.
Watch the following video and reflect on the need to help those who are spiritually wounded.
- What does it mean to be my brother’s keeper?
- How can I appropriately look out for, lift, and encourage my roommates?
- What may be preventing me from reaching out to my roommates?
- Would I be accepting of a roommate reaching out to me?
Shared Responsibility
Shared responsibility is one of the guiding principles of Student Living. This principle embodies the following practices:
- Roommates get involved.
- Roommates are responsible for one another.
- Roommates strengthen one another.
- Roommates refer for help when needed.
Consider the following questions and associated quotes:
What would keep me from getting involved?
“…In our modern society, the Enemy has spread fear of getting involved when someone is in trouble and has fostered a social stigma that attaches to people who speak up in the face of evil. The Enemy whispers, ‘Don't get involved; it's not your problem. Don't tell; you will be a tattletale’"
Is my involvement out of concern for my roommate or a desire to see them punished in some way?
“We do not want an environment on this campus characterized by self-appointed, judgmental, and self-righteous spiritual vigilantes. We do want an environment on this campus where appropriately and genuinely concerned 'neighbors,' in the true scriptural sense of the word neighbor, would remind, help, and encourage us to consistently think, speak, and act in a way that invites the Spirit of the Holy Ghost among us."
How does my relationship with my roommates affect my ability to provide support and assistance?
“The strategies of the Enemy to deceive, attack, and distract are made even more effective if he can divide us from one another. Division comes in many forms—contention, disunity, gossip, backbiting. But perhaps the most insidious is silence”
How would I want someone to handle the situation if the tables were turned and I was in a difficult situation?
“During a lifetime we oscillate repeatedly between being nurturing shepherds and nurtured sheep. That fact underlines our mutual interdependence—for we are all ‘the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand’ (Psalms 95:7). We are responsible for each other . . . as brothers and sisters freely ‘willing to bear one another’s burdens’ and ‘comfort those that stand in need of comfort’ (Mosiah 18:8-9). We cannot escape that responsibility, nor expect someone else to accept it for us”
