From “Discipleship and Discipline” by William H. Hicks, copyright March, 2005:

“Dr. Peck’s second element of discipline is Acceptance of Responsibility. There are two concepts here that bear exploration.  The first concept is tied to connotations in the word, ‘responsibility’.  The word responsibility is actually two words in one- response and ability.  Response presupposes, contemplates or envisions an action that can be taken given a situation or set of circumstances.  Ability presupposes the wherewithal, the capability to take the appropriate, contemplated action.  Thus, “response-ability”, or the ability to respond.  The ability to respond also implies the availability of adequate resources- motivation, spiritual gifts, tools, intelligence, skills, talents, experience- which are relevant and appropriate to be applied to the task assigned.

The word “responsibility” has come to connote something more, taking on an obligatory tone.  “It’s your responsibility to clean the bathroom, Bill!”  There is also the connotation of accountability, tinged with a sense of moral imperative, inherent in the term responsibility.  A person who discharges his responsibilities or who keeps his obligations is deemed reliable.  It is in the doing that one meets the test of acceptance of responsibility.”