Beware the Burden of False Responsibility

The Opportunity and Struggle with Saying No

False responsibility is a spiritual bondage that robs us of time, energy, peace and joy. I know I cannot be all things to all people, yet so many times I have fallen prey to this trap of the enemy.

False responsibility causes us to put way too many things on our plate and to carry burdens that are not ours to carry. We are called to be good stewards of our time, energy, and finances. To be obedient to this calling, we must pick and choose carefully what we are responsible for or we, and those we care about, will pay the price.

Do you find yourself struggling with saying no because you don’t want to let others down? Do you do things out of obligation and feel trapped in a cycle that you don’t know how to get out of?  Do you find yourself carrying emotional burdens of those around you?


In the times that we live in, people all around us have fallen prey to the trap of false responsibility. They are burned out and exhausted.

I recently came face to face with my struggle with false responsibility – again. I was presented with a request to serve my community. As soon as it was presented to me I knew that I wanted to say no.  It would have involved putting more on my plate and I felt overwhelmed at the mere thought of adding anything else to my schedule.

Yet, I was struggling with a couple of issues associated with responding “no.”

• I didn’t want to let others down.  On paper I was the perfect person for the task and I really didn’t know who would fulfill the request outside of me.
• I was feeling selfish for saying no. I hated feeling as if I was letting others down.

After praying about the opportunity and talking it over with my husband, I did say no.

Even though I knew I had done the right thing, why did I still felt guilty?

The Dream of the Green Satin Blouse

Within two days of making this decision, I had a dream God gave me confirming that I made the right choice.  The setting for my dream was a boutique dressing room in a very fine hotel.

A salesperson was helping me change into a blouse she was attempting to sell me.  It was a green satin blouse and I could see her trying to work the blouse over my shoulders.  It was actually taking two salespeople to force it on.

At the same time the salesperson was pulling the shirt over me, she was telling me that the blouse was perfect for me.  It was a beautiful blouse, emerald green in color.  It was a great color for me and was a very flattering style.

All of this was true, but it wasn’t comfortable.

As I stepped back to admire myself in the blouse I realized that I was very pregnant…probably giving birth very soon.  I was smiling and excited because I was buying the blouse to go to a romantic dinner with my husband.  I wore the blouse out of the store and rode the elevator up, stepping out into a beautiful hotel lobby to meet my husband.

As we walked together to the car I was surprised to see that I was wearing the dressy blouse with jean shorts and seemed oblivious to the contradiction between the comfy jean shorts and the dressy but tight-in-the-shoulders blouse.

Clearly, this was a mismatched outfit.

The thing that also stood out in the dream is that my husband didn’t seem to pay any attention to what I was wearing. He seemed very happy to see me and focused solely on me.

We walked straight to each other, smiling and happy to be reunited, and went on our way to the romantic dinner.

It appeared that what had felt like a big deal to me really hadn’t mattered to him.

I awoke knowing that God was speaking to me through the dream but didn’t immediately make a connection between it and my present circumstances.  Yet over the course of the day I couldn’t shake the question,

“Why would I buy that blouse?  It didn’t fit.  What is God trying to tell me through this dream?”

As I prayed, I felt prompted to call a sister in the Lord to help me interpret the dream.  We talked and prayed and this is what the Lord showed us.

Meaning of the Dream

God was confirming that I should be careful about what I allow others to put on me.  The blouse was beautiful but didn’t fit for the season I was in.

When we are about to birth things for the Kingdom of God we must “wear” or “put on” what is appropriate for that season.  Don’t ignore the smothering, too tight feeling we have in our spirits.  Don’t allow the enthusiasm of those approaching us to sell us into wearing something we are not supposed to wear.  

The hotel represented intimacy and getting away with God. My husband represented God.  Also, remember that in the dream my husband didn’t even care about what I was wearing.  He only had eyes for me.

We should never allow the things we are doing for the Kingdom or others to take away from what is most important…our relationship with Him and our families.

The blouse itself was beautiful, but the comfy jean shorts were more appropriate for someone about to give birth.  When we are in the last stages of pregnancy we do not need to be constricted.  Be very careful of putting anything on that does not fit with the vision God is giving you for yourself and your family.  

If He is dealing with you about spending more time with your family and an opportunity comes your way that will cut into that time, you may be about to fall prey to false responsibility.

The Trap of False Responsibility

False responsibility is a beautiful green satin blouse that in every way looks perfect on the hanger but isn’t right for us.  And while that blouse looks beautiful, it is binding.  We can’t move freely while wearing that green satin blouse of false responsibility.

We each only get a total of twenty-four hours per day to steward.  How will we spend that time? What cost will we pay when we allow false responsibilities to eat into our time, energy and resources.

Can you think of some areas where you feel trapped with your time and resources, perhaps feeling robbed of energy, peace and joy?

If you have struggled like I have with false responsibility, let us pray together.

Originally Posted: March 21, 2017