Held to Account

Mayor Street took some flak yesterday for waiting in line all day for the new iPhone.  A self-proclaimed gadget junkie, he just had to have the new toy, leaving some to wonder aloud if the mayor of the sixth largest city in the nation had more important ways to spend his time.  The Mayor responded that he was in fact working the whole time, via Blackberry and cell phone, and that if he had sent an aide in his place, he would've been pilloried just as much.

It is definitely interesting to observe how high a standard we place on our elected officials.  John Edwards gets lambasted for getting a $400 haircut, people roll their eyes about Governor Corzine spending nights outside out New Jersey, and Mayor Street is a favorite punching bag. 

To some degree, it's like us fans whose tickets pay the salaries of the people on the field, so we feel we can boo them and insult their families.  In the same way, we've elected these guys and gals, and it's our taxes that are paying their salaries, so we feel they should be at our beck and call.  And this is largely a good thing when it comes to politics, for public servants to indeed feel that they are ultimately accountable to the people.

But if we're going to hold them to account, the same principles are in play in terms of ourselves being accountable, particularly for those of us who are Bible-believing.  For the Bible is clear that we are inextricably inter-connected to one another.  We simply cannot opt out of our obligation to our fellow man, whether to ignore his need or ignore our responsibility to be a positive role model. 

Ultimately, for we who fear God, we are accountable to God, and will one day be held to account for our actions.  Players may have their salaries paid for by fans, and politicians by taxpayers, but all mankind has been birthed into existence by God, who continues to provide physical sustenance and material possessions to this day.  If we're going to heckle A-Rod and Mayor Street, we ought to be ready to stand up to the judgment of our God.