Accountable

ByHal Hammons

I am in a quandary.  The landscaper I hired recently did what I will generously term a mediocre job.  And technically, he isn’t finished; one of the bushes I ordered has not been delivered.  He promised to follow through, but that was two weeks ago and I am frustrated.  The bill, by the way, has been paid in full.

I hate holding people accountable in situations like this.  One, it’s just bad business for a preacher; you never know who might walk through the door on Sunday morning.  But two, and more importantly, I’m just not a jerky sort of person.  I genuinely hate pointing out people’s failures, even when they are undeniable and they affect me directly.

Maybe his mother is in the hospital.  Maybe his truck is in the shop.  Maybe a dissatisfied customer beat him up and stole his cell phone.  In any case, it’s usually better (and always easier) to just accept a raw deal and move on.  It seems like the “Christian” thing to do.

On the other hand, the “Christian” thing for the other person to do would be to follow through with his commitments, to make proper apologies, and do unimpeachable work in the first place — to be accountable, in other words.  Moreover, a truly accountable person would be grateful to anyone who came to him (in Galatians 6:1-style kindness) with words of correction.  That’s what I would want.  And if the Golden Rule applies, shouldn’t I want that for others as well?

What to do, what to do … 

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