be sharp

As iron sharpens iron,
so one man sharpens another.

Every Wednesday, we have a regularly scheduled conference call at work to review the status of a particular project. In a way, this quick update meeting is designed to hold people accountable for their prior follow-ups. So it’s not surprising that there is always a flurry of emails and activities on Tuesday afternoon. No one wants to be unprepared.

Another project I am working on involves a written report every month. We prepare the report well before month end so there will be time to work on any items that somehow slipped through the cracks. In a way, the report holds us accountable.

While reports and meetings work in the business world, when it comes to our journeys with Christ we must rely on one another. Our relationships hold us accountable.

I was reminded of this fact last week when I received an email from my friend TK asking if I was available for lunch.

Now to be clear – there was no hidden agenda in TK’s invitation. This was not a status meeting. No written reports were expected. My guess is that the only expectation would be for some friendly chit chat. And some lunch.

Any yet, this simple lunch invitation led to a series of actions on my part.

You see, I had previously told TK that I was going to reach out to a mutual friend, but the two of us had not yet connected. So I got off my butt, contacted this person and we had coffee this week.

I had also made a commitment to myself to get involved in a community service project this month – so I scheduled that in advance of my lunch as well.

That’s two things that I had been putting off for no good reason—now done. All because a friend sent a simple email inviting me to lunch.

Funny, isn’t it, that we can hold each other accountable without even thinking about it. You just need to invite someone into your life.