Accountability is not synonymous with punishment: strength
In my chain reference bible, chain 3806 is the first list of
references to “God’s Strength.” The
first passage listed is Exodus 15: 2 “The Lord is my strength and my song, He
has become my salvation. He is my God
and I will praise Him, my father’s God and I will exalt Him.” This verse is
part of Miriam’s song of rejoicing and praise after God led His people through
the Red Sea in escape from Egypt and the pursuing Egyptian army. God’s strength is twofold: He acts to physically strengthen and protect
His people here on earth, to shepherd them through difficult circumstances; and
He acted through His plan of redemption in the death and resurrection of Christ
Jesus and continues to act to bring people to faith in Christ through His word
and Spirit. The story of God’s rescue of
Israel from Egypt exemplifies His strength and protection; it also foreshadowed
the sacrifice of Christ as the Passover Lamb, the One Whose blood caused the
Angel of Death to Passover God’s people in mercy. It is appropriate that this verse and this
reference start the discussion of God’s strength. When we come to God for strength, it will
likely be in one of those domains—to provide us strength for earthly challenges
and/or strength to persevere in faith toward eternal salvation.
When I am holding an employee or subordinate accountable, I
most often will be praying for strength to simply do my earthly duty—to do my
job well, to act with integrity and fairness. However, behind every human
interaction by a Christian in the life of another person is the potential
impact—big or small, obvious or hidden—on that person’s spiritual life and
closeness (or distance) to Christ. As I’ve
said, it’s unlikely that I’ll be actively proselytizing at work. But my actions toward others should live out
my Christian faith in my leadership role, and I am always called to love other
people as Christ loves them.
But most often, when we pray for strength to hold other
people accountable for mistakes or for wrongdoing, it is more so an earthly
strength—that is, the emotional fortitude, presence of mind, and determination.
It’s hard to give people constructive feedback; it’s hard to inform them
of an error; it’s hard to demand performance corrections or improvements; it’s
hard to be consistent, objective and constructive. Therefore we need supernatural strength.
Psalm 28 is a beautiful example of a prayer for strength
when faced with difficult people and difficult situations.
Psalm
28
Of
David.
1 To you, Lord, I
call;
you are my Rock,
do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you remain silent,
I will be like those who go down to the pit.
2 Hear my cry for mercy
as I call to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
toward your Most Holy Place.
you are my Rock,
do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you remain silent,
I will be like those who go down to the pit.
2 Hear my cry for mercy
as I call to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
toward your Most Holy Place.
3 Do not drag me away with the wicked,
with those who do evil,
who speak cordially with their neighbors
but harbor malice in their hearts.
4 Repay them for their deeds
and for their evil work;
repay them for what their hands have done
and bring back on them what they deserve.
with those who do evil,
who speak cordially with their neighbors
but harbor malice in their hearts.
4 Repay them for their deeds
and for their evil work;
repay them for what their hands have done
and bring back on them what they deserve.
5 Because they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord
and what his hands have done,
he will tear them down
and never build them up again.
and what his hands have done,
he will tear them down
and never build them up again.
6 Praise be to the Lord,
for he has heard my cry for mercy.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
and with my song I praise him.
for he has heard my cry for mercy.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
and with my song I praise him.
8 The Lord is the
strength of his people,
a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.
9 Save your people and bless your inheritance;
be their shepherd and carry them forever.
a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.
9 Save your people and bless your inheritance;
be their shepherd and carry them forever.
Am I going to refer to my employees as “wicked” “enemies”? Probably not.
Not most employees, and not on most days anyway…. But while my employees are not intentionally
out to get me, the exhaustion associated with people failing to meet standards
gives us reason to cry out to the Lord our Rock. I might reword Psalm 28 in this way:
1 To you, Lord, I
call;
you are my Rock,
do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you remain silent,
I will be like those who go down to the pit of depression, anger and hopelessness.
2 Hear my cry for mercy
as I call to you for help in upholding standards of safety and good stewardship in my workplace,
as I lift up my hands
toward your Most Holy Place.
you are my Rock,
do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you remain silent,
I will be like those who go down to the pit of depression, anger and hopelessness.
2 Hear my cry for mercy
as I call to you for help in upholding standards of safety and good stewardship in my workplace,
as I lift up my hands
toward your Most Holy Place.
3 Do not let me be overwhelmed by the incompetent,
with those who do struggle to uphold or conform to standards,
who tell me that they understand the expectations
but are inconsistent, unreliable and seem not to care about quality or safety.
4 Help me hold them accountable for their deeds
and for their sub-standard work;
give them insight into what their hands have done
and help them see clearly the implications of their wrongdoing.
with those who do struggle to uphold or conform to standards,
who tell me that they understand the expectations
but are inconsistent, unreliable and seem not to care about quality or safety.
4 Help me hold them accountable for their deeds
and for their sub-standard work;
give them insight into what their hands have done
and help them see clearly the implications of their wrongdoing.
5 Because they have no understanding or caring for potential
harm to others,
and what the consequences to coworkers and customers might be,
strengthen me to hold them accountable, to give them feedback
and change their behavior or remove them from their position of responsibility.
and what the consequences to coworkers and customers might be,
strengthen me to hold them accountable, to give them feedback
and change their behavior or remove them from their position of responsibility.
6 Praise be to the Lord,
for he has heard my cry for mercy.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
and with my song I praise him.
for he has heard my cry for mercy.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
and with my song I praise him.
8 The Lord is the
strength of his people,
a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.
9 Save your people and bless your inheritance;
be their shepherd and carry them forever.
a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.
9 Save your people and bless your inheritance;
be their shepherd and carry them forever.
As I edited this psalm, the formatting of the original
became clearer. The first two verses are
a generic call for help along with statements about God’s character and Being
which indicate He has the ability and desire to honor the request. The verses 3 through 5 are the specifics of
the request, followed by verses 6 through 9 which praise God that He heard and
responded to the request. The Psalmist
writes his prayer with absolute confidence that God can and will honor the
prayer. As I wrote out my own versions
of verses 3 through 5 and then saw them connected to the absolute confidence of
the Psalmist in God’s mercy and power, I was reassured in the same way—my
prayers to God for strength will be heard and honored, according to His plan
for my life (and maybe not in the way I want, but according to the “mentoring
and feedback” I need!) As 1 Corinthians
10: 13 reminds us, we will be tempted and have trials but not beyond what God
will strengthen us to bear.
Psalm 62: 11-12a says “One thing God has spoken, two things
I have heard: that You, O God, are
strong, and that You, O God, are loving.”
God is both strong and
loving. When we pray to Him for strength—or
when we pray that He would smite our enemies or our recalcitrant subordinates—He
will respond in both strength and love, because that is His character. As leaders and managers, we are called to
lead and manage His people and to be His under-shepherds; yes, to hold people
accountable, but also to be merciful and compassionate. As God balances His love and justice to us,
we are called to do the same in our workplace with those we supervise. Strength and wisdom must come together in
every decision. As James says in James
1: 20 “…for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God
desires.” And Psalm 4: 4a “In your anger
do not sin….”. We pray for strength, not
vengeance. We balance our prayer for
strength with that for wisdom, knowing that we serve a God who is both strong
and loving.
1) How do you view (consciously or unconsciously) the actions of your employees? Are you angered, do you view them as your wicked enemies? Do you try to be both "strong and loving"? Or does your version of holding people accountable lean more toward vengeance? How can you use God as your role model to become more objective and compassionate?
2) Do you view holding people accountable always as punishment and therefore as unkind, unloving and inappropriate? Or do you shy away from confrontations because you do not want to be perceived as mean? How can seeking strength and wisdom help you change both your perception and your actions?
3) Consider a specific instance where you had to hold an employee accountable and feel that you did not do so in a Godly, constructive way; or where you failed to even attempt accountability. Prayerfully consider how you will approach similar situations in the future, seeking wisdom and strength from our God who is strong, wise and loving.
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