August 30
An Ordinary Report
The treasurer gives a report, and someone asks about an expense. A perfectly reasonable question can feel like an accusation when we have worked hard and believe our good intentions should be obvious. We hear doubt where there may only be a wish to understand. Our reply becomes defensive before the question has been answered.
Trust in service includes letting other people see what we have done. A clear report gives the group a way to share responsibility without having to guess. It also protects the person doing the work from carrying information alone. There are unkind ways to ask questions, and patience does not require pretending otherwise. Still, the ordinary need for an explanation is no insult. We were asked to care for something that belongs to others as well. Their interest in it is part of the arrangement.
Why might a request for information feel like a judgment of my character?
The figures are worth explaining plainly.
For the A.A. nerds: Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, Tradition Two, p. 134.