Image by Nattanan Kanchanaprat from Pixabay
Acts 11:1 - 8 And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.
2 And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him,
3 Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them.
4 But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto them, saying,
5 I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came even to me:
6 Upon the which when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
7 And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter; slay and eat.
8 But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth.
It is written that every man will give an account of everything that we have done in public and in private life; In our family life, careers, business, ministry and this include the use of resources given to us as well as our abilities, capabilities and opportunities.
In this passage, Peter was being asked to answer charges as to why he had to visit Cornelius a Gentile notwithstanding, the great and mighty things that the Holy Spirit had done. The apostles and other believers throughout Judea had also heard like all others that the Gentiles also had received the word of God and and been baptized by the Holy Spirit. Perhaps some were happy about the event but when Peter went to Jerusalem, those who were not in favor of circumcising Gentiles criticized him saying, ' you were a guest in the house of the uncircumcised Gentiles and you even ate and stayed with them.'
So Peter had to give them a complete account of what happened from the beginning. And after giving them the report in verse 18, when they heard this, they stopped their criticism and praised God saying;
Why were they complaining and criticizing Peter despite the mighty works that had happened. The reason may be because they had not been briefed properly and therefore lacked the necessary information. And it is the same in all churches and organizations. It is therefore always necessary to have constant interaction with staff and church members (in the form of meetings, durbars, the use of notice boards and written reports to appropriate authorities) to dispel rumours in order to help the organization to grow.
As heads and unit heads, wardens, guild leaders etc. we must be prepared to account for our actions / activities and more importantly document everything especially on the use of all resources.
It must also be noted that no matter who you are and how well your organization is being run people will always demand accountability even for doing good work.
Sometimes depending on our leadership style, we may use dictatorial tactics to bull doze our way or use other tactics to mute positive criticisms but a day is coming when God himself will put every deed into the refinery to test our works. A day of forensic auditing is coming.
Points to Ponder
May the peace of God be with you beloved in Christ.Be Blessed
