Mind the Store

As seen in the HEARTbeat and the Vilalge Voice

Mind the Store

             What exactly does this old saying mean?  I’ve heard it in old movies several times but have never thought about the depth of it.  According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it means, “To be in charge of a place when the person who is usually in charge is not there.”  Dependent on the size of the task, this “minding” can be menial or monumental!

When someone is asked to “Mind the store,” exactly what comes with that?  Who has responsibility over the store?  Who has authority over the store?  You can’t be in charge of something and not either have authority and responsibility.  If you don’t, it’s a recipe for disaster.  As many of you have experienced, it’s a setup for failure!

Can you have responsibility and no authority?  Can you have authority and no responsibility?  Organizational Behavioralist will tell you authority is transferrable.  You can give authority to someone so they can make decisions on your behalf.  But if something goes wrong, who is responsible?  Or should I ask, who is ultimately responsible?  The easy answer to this question is the one who conveyed the authority – right?

I ask you a serious question:  What authority do you have in the kingdom of God.  Think carefully before you come up with an answer.  Who gave you the authority?  What are you responsible for?  All very deep questions, but ones who have a very simple answer.

Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He gathered the eleven apostles around Him.  He told them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matt 28:18).  Right there He tells us the ultimate authority in all of heaven and earth belongs to Him.  After all, weren’t all things in heaven and earth created through Jesus?  But shortly after He tells His apostles He has all the authority, the tells them to “Mind the store.”  He says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  Jesus transfers His authority to the eleven to speak for Him as they spread the good news.  This is the Great Commission.

Some may say this is a responsibility and not necessarily an authority.  In an earlier conversation with the twelve, Jesus said, “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matt 18:18).  In His own word, Jesus has given them the authority to bind and loose for the kingdom’s sake.

This is authority and responsibility.  As Christians, we have been given both by the One who held both, who still holds both, but has shared both with us, His joint heirs.  So I ask you, how is your “Minding the store” going until the Owner returns?