Excerpt from 1 Peter 4:1-6
 
"But they will have to give an accounting to him who stands ready to judge the living and the dead."

Reflection by Donna Schaper

When this century is over, we will have to give lots of accounts.  We will have to account for what we did about global warming, what we did about nuclear power, what we did about the public schools, whether we allowed the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer, – the great historian in the sky will have quite a few tales to tell.

Did we have any new ideas or change any of the directions set in the twentieth century?  As a writer in 2011, I often remember that I have to have 2013's new idea now. As a mentor, I often tell people to build the resume now that will realize their future.  Marjory Stoneman Douglas, the magnificent author of one of the first and best green books, The Everglades: River of Grass (published 1947), confessed late in life that she always "told people more than they wanted to hear."  She had a new idea and she over-spoke it.  She was a prophet who understood how accountability can make you unpopular in the present, only to make you loved in a future that even you may not see.
 
In a world where millions of children are left behind, where for many people it is uphill both ways, where even airplane metal is fatigued, accounting is a great strategy. You don't just plant and you don't just pick. You live now three steps ahead.   You imagine accountability as a welcome look at how you spent your days, your mind, your money and your energy.  

Prayer

Thank you, God, for the enormous trust you have placed in us, that we might be accountable to You. Amen.

About the Author Donna Schaper is Senior Minister of Judson Memorial Church, New York, New York.

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