I want to just talk to you now about understanding your responsibility, or your metron. Headship means you just assume the responsibility God has given you, and start to fulfil it. Here it is, 2 Corinthians 10, and Paul is writing, and he says in verse 12: we dare not make ourselves of this number or group of people, nor compare ourselves with some that are commending themselves. That's saying: look how good we're doing - but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. That means they're foolish. So what he's saying is, he's talking about his ministry, and he's just saying: I never look what anyone else is doing, to worry about that, and I never compare myself with what others are doing, and say: well I'm doing real well. He said: I don't even look at anyone else, I just look at what God has entrusted me. Comparing with others makes you stupid, because you're different, and at the end of the day, you'll only ever be successful if you do what God gave you to do. To do that, you've got to discover it. You've got to get connected to Him, and find what He gave you to do, read and study the Bible, learn and listen, and say: what does God want me to do? Why am I here? Where am I going? What have I got to do? That's all the questions we ask.
Now let me just read here the next thing, this is the bit I want to pick up. He says this: because God, we want those things outside our measure, but according to the measure of rule or influence God has distributed to us, a measure that reaches even to you, we do not stretch ourselves beyond our measure. Now the word 'measure' there, is literally like that, it's a measure. The Bible uses the word 'metron', which you get the word 'metre', a metre. We used to have a stick called a metre-stick. Now if you want to know how long something is, you actually take out a measuring stick. If I wanted to find out how high I am, the best way to do it is to get a measuring stick; not look and say: well I'm really good, I'm higher than him - or stand next to my daughter in platforms and [laughter] I'm shorter than her! So what the Bible is saying is: you can't use people as your measure. God says: you've got to use a measuring stick.
Now for example, if you want to make a cake, you don't just put any ingredients, in any quantities; you measure the quantities: this measure of flour is what's going to make it go, but if you put too much or too little, it doesn't work. You put too much of some ingredients in, it doesn't work. It just doesn't go properly, so you measure it. Now that's what the Bible says: measure. Now when the Bible's using the word 'measure', a measure refers to the responsibility God has distributed to you. What has God measured to you? You've got to ask that question. Let me give you some principles related to that. I'm just going to go through them, and then we'll apply it to a man, and to the dynamic in a marriage, when you don't understand what your responsible for, and pass the buck. There's some big problems happen [laughs], so this is what God says. The word of God says: we don't boast things that are not ours, but according to the measure of influence that God has given to us; and He says: it actually involves you as well. Here it is...
The first thing is, every human being has their own measure of responsibility, your metron. God has given you something you're responsible for; for example, I'm responsible for my life, for my money, for cars - two of them now. One was bad enough, two is more responsibility; for a house, for a wife, for children, for ministry responsibilities here, for responsibilities to other churches. I could actually list them all down, and these are the things God has entrusted for me. They're not for you. You don't compare yourself, because God's only going to ask you, He's going to hold you to account, only for what He gave you to do; and you might have just a little bit, but you were just so dynamic and great, and filled it so good, that when you get to heaven, God says: wow, well done! When I get there, I've got all this stuff, He says: well you didn't do so well. I gave you more, I entrusted more, you didn't do good enough, not compared to that one over there. Do you understand? It's nothing to do with how much I'm responsible for, but everything to do with owning the responsibility, and doing what God wants me to do with it. So if God's called you to do one thing, and you're doing something else, it doesn't matter how good you're doing at it, it doesn't cut it with God. We're going to be responsible to Him for our lives.