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A DAY OF RECKONING My husband and I have just returned from a 5 day trip that required us to leave our children in the care of others. Before we left, I wrote up a page of instructions to help everyone understand what was expected of them and posted it on the fridge. It re-stated some of general household rules as well as a few additional assigned cores to help things run more smoothly. Our eldest had requested the opportunity to be in charge, and because she is very capable and trustworthy, we agreed. My parents live upstairs and would be available to help whenever necessary. And so we set off with eagerness (and in my case, a twinge of doubt!). While we were away, we were kept quite busy but able to get email on the laptop we brought with us. The first message from home was encouraging and helped put my mind at ease. Things were working out smoothly - what a relief! Our thoughts occupied with the events around us, the next day's emails were a bit of a surprise. Although the kids sounded upbeat, there were a few allusions to possible difficulties at home. The youngest wrote, "I'm glad I don't have to take care of these things". It was just enough to get me thinking… I'm fully aware my children are like any others, they don't always follow instructions and they don't always get along. That's why we told our daughter to focus first on keeping everyone fed and safe and just to keep track of behavior so that we could deal with it when we got home. We told the rest of them that they were to do what was expected of them so that they would be rewarded accordingly when we returned. We made sure they understood. It didn't take me long to realize we were following a principle found in one of Christ's own parables. MATTHEW 25:14-30 is the parable of the talents. It is about a man who must go on a trip. He handed out financial responsibilities to his servants and left them to follow through and take care of his affairs in his absence. When he returned, they gave an accounting of things while he was away. He had not expected from the servants any more than was reasonable for each one's ability, but he did not let anyone off the hook. He expected his orders had been followed. Happily, two of his servants had done what they were supposed to and even exceeded expectations. The man commended them and rewarded them. The third, however, had done nothing and tried to push the blame back on the master for being hard to please. The master considered him useless and therefore got rid of him. I realize there is a greater spiritual meaning in this passage: that we are all given abilities to develop and use in Christ's service while we wait for His return, and when He comes we will be rewarded according to our efforts on His behalf. But the neat thing about scripture is how it can be applied in daily life in so many ways. Like the parable, my husband and I set out expectations for our children according to their capabilities and required them to account for themselves when we got back home. It was good to know that everyone was safe and sound when we returned. After the love and affection were spread around, we asked the children how well they had done. We gave them the opportunity to make any necessary confessions of misbehavior and also asked them to let us know if any of their brothers or sisters deserved a reward. So they measured themselves against our original expectations and each one gave an accounting. It was nice to see that some were honest about their successes and failures; that some were able to acknowledge those that had done well and recommend them for reward. It was also disappointing to find some did not live up to their responsibilities and had in fact made things difficult for others. These were less likely to be honest about their behavior and wanted to spread the blame to their brothers and sisters. I wonder what it must be like for God to have to sit and watch and listen to us, day in and day out. How many of us are able to admit our mistakes, if not to each other, than at least to God? How often do we try to point our fingers at others and refuse to be responsible for our own actions? None of us is perfect, God knows this, but He's willing to give us chance after chance to correct and improve ourselves. Good thing He's patient! I do hope that there are enough of us each day that can be counted upon to do His will, so that He can find a reason to smile, so that His heart can be lifted. What will we have to say for ourselves on our day of reckoning? Later today we will be rewarding our children according to their actions. Like our Heavenly father, we get to give good things to the ones who tried hard to do what was right and good – that's always enjoyable. On the other hand, we will also have to pass out the punishment to those who failed to obey. That will be the disagreeable part of the task. Hopefully, though, they will have learned from this experience valuable lessons in personal accountability that will help them be successful in all they do. In the parable of the talents, the Master's words of praise are: "Well done, good and faithful servant". How I long to hear those words myself one day, just as I would love to say to all my children, "Good job, my love!" |
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