Accountability

But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?” And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more. (Luke 12:39-48 ESV). Sometime ago 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!