Responsibility demands a certain amount of readiness in the event of an emergency.  Sometimes it’s too late to improvise, especially when we’ve been forewarned to be prepared.  And a large part of being found accountable is remaining faithful and responsible for that which we are called to do.  I can remember as a child being told by my mother to have the dishes washed up before she got home from work.  Her coming home seemed a long way off until I saw her walking down the street toward the house.  I hadn’t done taken care of the responsibility I had been charged, because it seemed like such a long time before she would get home, and it was more fun playing than it was doing housework.  What was not fun was being held accountable for that which I hadn’t done, even though I knew I should have done it.

         I imagine we all suffer some anxiety when we are tasked with a responsibility but find ourselves coming up short because we failed to do what was asked of us.  And I don’t imagine it’s any different for us when we consider what it is to be a faithful servant to our heavenly Father, only to have failed to be responsible in doing what is asked of us.  Our faithfulness will fare much better when we are called to give an account for the task we’ve been entrusted to perform if we’ve been faithful.  Being a faithful servant is what accountable living is all about.

• How would you rate yourself as a faithful servant if you failed in your responsibility to do what was asked of you?
• What needs to happen within our lives to ensure that we are living accountably?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Almighty God, increase my spirit of faithfulness as Your servant that I might always be found living accountably before You.

         A person is often known by how they are viewed by their relationship with a person.  If a person is popular, it may be because their reputation precedes them.  There may be something about their nature that leads people to believe something good about them publicly.  But the same can be true when a person is perceived as evil.  Sometimes what we believe about a person guides our perceptions of them.  When we believe something that isn’t true, that’s defined as prejudice — pre-judging a person based on ill‑conceived thoughts or information that is narrow-mindedly arrived at.  But when those perceptions are wrong, it’s important not to assign wrongly arrived at conclusions about a person.  There is a short adage about the differing view of two people in the same circumstances.  It says,

       “Two men looked through prison bars,

       One saw mud, the other saw stars.”

          Now, which of the two were correct in what they saw?  The answer is difficult to say.  But what is true is that both of them were in the same living conditions, they viewed the world differently.  And what they saw — whether it was the beauty of the starlit sky, or the water-soaked soil of the earth, shaped their attitudes and perhaps the attitudes of those with whom they come in contact.  It would also have a profound impact on how they perceived their potential and value.

         I imagine the same is true in our relationship with God and each other.  How we view God and each other determines our commitment to responsibility.  What it does not do is change our level of accountability.

• Have you ever known someone who used their public persona to avoid accountability?
• What is your accountability to remain faithful when you’ve misjudged someone who has misrepresented themselves?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Loving God, keep me from avoiding accountability because I’ve misjudged someone. Help me to judge clearly so that I will be accountable only to you.

         It doesn’t seem appropriate — and maybe, it’s not a valid assessment — but it seems as if we’re in a competition.  It’s not a competition against each other, but a competition against ourselves to see if we can outdo ourselves in being most faithful, most serving, the most responsible to God.  And while that is true without a doubt, we constantly compare ourselves against one another in an effort to judge who is being the most faithful.  It typically comes across as our recognition that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are not only few, but unengaged with the work that has to be done.  And sometimes, even those who know they’re less active in their stewardship have no fear of standing before the world and shouting, “Don’t judge me.  You don’t know me.”  Neither do they seem to have a fear of standing before God as the practitioners of unfaithful, irresponsible servanthood.  And yet there is a truth spoken by Paul that proclaims that we will all give an account of ourselves before God.  God will be the judge of whether we were the best servant we were able to be, or whether we were an unworthy servant only worthy of being cast to the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  It seems — then — that even after every knee has bowed, and every tongue confessed, accounts will be required.

• What comes to your mind when you consider judgment in light of faithful servanthood?
• How does the idea of being held accountable for your life affect how you choose to live?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Holy and gracious God, plant within me the desire to be a faithful servant to You. Give me a heart to live accountably so that I may stand before You justified by Your grace.