I work with accountants. I like accountants; God likes accountants; you should like accountants. They are full of tenacity, many of whom are the finest examples of Christian kindness you will ever find.
However, accountants will require you to “code” every transaction. Expenses must be “charged back” or correctly identified based on the transaction’s already determined exact account number. Getting close does not count; for instance, writing account number 482628402974 is not the same as 482628502974.
Accountants also insist on using the double-entry method where every liability has an associated asset counter-balance so that both sides of the ledger match the penny.
I appreciate accountants. However, those who are a “fly by the seat of your pants” leader or “we will figure it out later” often see the accountant as an adversary. Which, at least most of the time, they are not.
Why do I mention accountants? Well, they are perfect examples of people who have to make decisions about transactions or “events.” We also do this in real life, quickly labeling something that happens to us as “good,” “bad,” or somewhere in between.
I get a “good” report from the doctor, or I get “bad” news about my retirement portfolio performance (and who hasn’t this year?) We also label the seasons of our life. That was a “bad” year (insert country song; my dog ran off, my truck died…), or it was a “great” year (insert country song played backward; my dog came home, my vehicle started….)
Over time, I have noticed that my initial classification of such events was often incorrect. Have you ever looked backward with 20/20 insight; where what you thought God was doing was not actually what He was doing?
In James 1:2, the half-brother of Jesus says we should “count” every trial, difficulty, or bump in the road as “joy.” However, there may not be “good” in the event itself. Instead, the joy comes in the promise that God is up to something and will use the event for His ultimate “good.”
Every “trial” we face is part of God’s plan. He is building in us endurance or steadfastness. This realization should encourage us, as God’s purpose for endurance brings us to completion or perfection in the image and likeness of His son (Romans 8). Trials are a way in which He accomplishes this.
So, for the follower of Christ, while “bad” things will happen to us, God will ultimately use them for our “good.” In the meantime, we can charge them to the account of “good” or, as James declares, “joy.”