day 422: Allowances

We make allowances for things at work, all day long, every day. Few projects are on time and perfect. No deal doesn’t have allowances made and compromises taken. Even new buildings have value engineering allowances taken so it doesn’t quite end up being the same as what the original design held for the facility. We are used to making allowances to get things done and have others see our point of view. We give, we take, we give, we take. It is the way of business. The same is true with our bosses and co-workers. In order to get our way, sometimes we have to make our own allowances to be sure that others side with us as we go forward. Allowances are an every day part of work. However, we all know people who make allowances with everything but when it comes to other people. These are the people who fail to see the human side of an instance, or they see it and refuse to acknowledge the weaknesses and fallibility of people. With them, one mistake and you can be marked. We all know these types of bosses and co-workers. I was doing a reference recently for an executive and I had to come clean and say that I felt the one real issue with this person was their inability to give others a break, or allow them to work to high but not perfect standards, standards that not even this executive could claim to meet. Yes, the executive wanted to hold others to a standard that they can’t even uphold. Somewhere in here is, “don’t do as I do, or say….do as I think you should do.” We all need to have someone give us some allowance in our work. None of us are so perfect that we aren’t going to stub our toe or slip up once in a while. Paul tells us in Ephesians that by being people who can look past the current issues and focus on the good of people, etc.; that we can also still be successful; “"Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love." You see, if we truly loved as Paul says we should, then it would not be hard to allow the faults of others. But because we love something else more; ourselves, our career, the money that comes from the job, the power, etc. we don’t allow ourselves to accept the weaknesses in others. Today, think about who others think you are. Are you one who is known by others for the allowances you will take, or the hard-liner who is just waiting for the first slip up? We know that God has high standards when it comes to work and excellence at what we do, but He is not a God who doesn’t at least give us an allowance a day. He is the God who wants you to turn over yourself to Him so that he can assure that the right allowances are given and taken.

Reference: Ephesians 4:2 (New Living Testament)