by Don Emmitte |
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Know this: A homeowner who knew exactly when a
burglar was coming would not permit the house to be broken into. You must
be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.
Peter asked, "Lord, is this illustration just for us or for
everyone?" And the Lord replied, "I'm talking to any faithful,
sensible servant to whom the master gives the responsibility of managing
his household and feeding his family. If the master returns and finds that
the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. I assure you, the
master will put that servant in charge of all he owns. But if the servant
thinks, `My master won't be back for a while,' and begins oppressing the
other servants, partying, and getting drunk, well, the master will return
unannounced and unexpected. He will tear the servant apart and banish him
with the unfaithful. The servant will be severely punished, for though he
knew his duty, he refused to do it. But people who are not aware that they
are doing wrong will be punished only lightly. Much
is required from those to whom much is given, and much more is required
from those to whom much more is given.” (Luke 12:39-48 NLV). Recently
someone sent me an email that had a link to a short video titled “Terry
Tate, Office Linebacker.” Perhaps
you have seen it as well. It is funny. The premise is that an office
manager hires a professional football player (Terry Tate) to hold his
office staff accountable for their work.
As you might imagine, the only way a linebacker knows how to
“enforce” company policy is through football tackling.
You can imagine the scene when an office worker fails to throw away
an aluminum can in the recycle bin and is faced with a vicious “hit”
from Terry Tate, Office Linebacker! Accountability
is essential in life, though I don’t think Terry Tate is the answer!
Having become a manager responsible for many employees in various
positions, three principles have come to stand out in my mind. They also
apply in our spiritual life. §
First, the
more you have the greater your accountability. This is the meaning that
Jesus has for us in our reading this morning. Make no mistake: Whatever
our assets might be - financial, personal, position, opportunity, or
ability - we are called to be good stewards of those assets. §
Second,
there is no accountability without freedom. Accountability and freedom are
two sides of the same coin; you cannot have one without the other. It is
useless to hold an employee responsible for a certain level of production
if I didn't give them the authority to get the job done. If they aren't
free to make decisions, then I could not blame them for the results. If we
are going to hold people accountable, and then we have to create an
environment, a society, in which they have the freedom to take risks and
make mistakes. We need the freedom to fail and the freedom to advance as
far as we can. §
Third, there
is no accountability without assessment. It's hard to be accountable
without some kind of objective evaluation. We all need help in assessing
our personal performance. A fair system of evaluation nurtures the
incentive to work hard and reap the reward. Without regular assessment,
anyone in any occupation could not rise above those who don't want to work
and are just along for the ride. Everyone is accountable to someone. Use
that accountability to propel you to where you want to go. Only when we
take full responsibility for our actions can we shed the burdens of our
mistakes and go forward. Grace is free, although it does come with accountability both in the physical and spiritual realm. Accept that and be all that you can be in Christ! Much is required from those to whom much is given. And, we have been given so much through Christ! |
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