The Business of the Body

Ephesians 5 and 6 are familiar chapters to most Christians. They can be categorized as the “relationship manual” of Paul’s writings. Paul describes the types of relationships that should exist between parents and children, husband and wife, worker and master, and just the body in general. The one theme that is the common thread sewing together these passages is accountability.

The definition of accountability is “the obligation of an individual or organization to account for its activities, accept responsibility for them, and to disclose the results in a transparent manner. It also includes the responsibility for money or other entrusted property.” This accountability as a professional is multidirectional. We have accountability above and below. 

Let’s talk about accountability above. Think about your place of work. If the business or organization is set up in a way that honors accountability, there is someone who “oversees” you. There are even boards who oversee the CEOs of organizations for accountability purposes. One of my favorite quotes comes from Patrick Lai who says, “People do not do what is expected, but rather what is inspected”.  After all, there’s not much need for taking responsibility for actions if no one is ever looking at what you’re doing

There’s also, on the other hand, accountability below. Are you following through and being transparent with those whom you lead? Are there measures in place in which others are checking in on their work?

Why is accountability so important? Especially for B4T businesses, it is an essential pillar...but why? Looking at the second half of the definition illuminates that reasoning for us. We are all entrusted with Kingdom property as we run Kingdom businesses and operations. Those Kingdom treasures we are responsible for include personnel, assets, and even the time that our business takes up in the lives of people. Are you treating personnel like the treasures of God they are? Are you stewarding them properly, both allowing them to shine and use their gifts to the fullest while also incorporating training and performance review? Are you stewarding your assets as an organization well? Assets should not be buried talents, standing idle and unused, but they should also be prayed over and spent wisely according to the Lord’s leading. Ask yourself with each expenditure, “Is this growing God’s Kingdom?”. Are you stewarding your time well as an organization? Are you being purposeful in relationships both internally and externally? Are there unnecessary “time wasters” still being allowed to be a part of your company’s day to day operation? Jesus spent only three years in ministry, so you can bet that His time was very purposeful. It’s not always quantity of time spent in work as quality of time. Are you making the most of yours?

Today be in prayer about which of these aspects God is highlighting for your organization. What do you need a greater measure of to be more accountable to the parts of the body you’ve been set in place to work with? If you’re interested in more resources about Kingdom Business, contact us at www.gomandate.org/contact.