The Heavenly Contract

 Ever since Dan was a little boy, he wanted to be an accountant when he grew up. He loved, loved, loved numbers, and dreamed about them all day long. When he was learning how to write (Google) boring research papers in English class, he dreamed of numbers. When he learned all about scripted world wars and the godless, heretical theory of evolution in History class, his mind was wrapped up in a web of numbers. Dan had a love affair/obsession with numbers.
 
Don't think that Dan was your average nerd. Oh, no- he was far from it. It turns out that Dan was the star quarterback of Mary Jane High's football team. He had an athletic build and sparkling blue eyes. The girls went crazy over him.
 
His academic accomplishments attracted scouts from Brigham Young, U of Illinois, and Notre Dame. Eventually, he graduated summa cum laude and was valedictorian of Brigham Young's  Class of 2008. Needless to say, he scored a high paying job at the prestigious firm, PwC.
 
Dan hit the ground running when he started his career. He worked 12-hour days, took home his work much of the time, and even gave up more than the occasional weekend. His trophy wife wasn't too happy, but she consoled herself with lavish shopping trips and spa vacations. Within a few years, Dan made partner. Aside from his 6-figure salary, he was rewarded with a spacious corner office in their Madison Avenue branch that overlooked New York City.
 
Dan was loving life. Aside from getting the opportunity to fulfill his life's purpose through his career, he was making all sorts of connections with very important and snobby people. Although he was still young, he was warmly accepted into the nearly impermeable circle of good ol' boys that ran the firm. When he should have been heading home from work, he was enjoying single malt Macallan's from the Fine and Rare Collection with his bosses. Even the top boss loved Dan like his own son, and treated him very generously.
 
After a few years, Dan started to get a little too wrapped up in the good life. He became lax in his responsibilities. At first, he started showing up a few minutes late. Pretty soon, a few minutes turned into an hour. Lunch breaks that used to last one hour turned into three-hour hiatuses at The Core Club. After-hours with the boys were turning into drinking binges that ended with an intoxicated Dan being driven home in the company limousine.
 
His performance during working hours started to slide downhill as well. Instead of being on the computer to do whatever accountants do (which I have no idea), he started spending more time online, visiting social networking sites and x-rated sites. He became sloppy with numbers and didn't seem to care.
 
There was one thing Dan never realized, however. The oversized mirror behind his desk wasn't a regular mirror. It was a 2-way mirror. Behind the 2-way mirror sat a secret review committee that tracked all of his activities while at work. (Let's put aside the fact that this is totally illegal.) The committee consisted of three people, each more serious and intimidating-looking than the next. They never spoke or reacted when they caught Dan doing things that he shouldn't have been doing. I'm not sure if they were even human.
 
When he took naps at his desk because he was out too late the night before, they silently took note. Without moving a muscle, each member would look through his glasses that teetered at the edge of his nose and recorded every single action he did.
 
Once a month the review committee would report their findings to the CEO of the firm. This CEO was not only a brilliant and shrewd businessman, but he was also a kindhearted man as well. Although he knew that Dan had been slacking off at work, he kept his knowledge to himself. He didn't confront Dan or treat him any differently. As far as Dan knew, his boss was clueless as to his downward-spiraling behavior.
 
Seeing that he was getting away with his increasingly lackadaisical attitude at work, Dan eventually became arrogant. It was apparent to him that either no one was watching him, or no one cared enough to stop him from his unprofessional behavior. Unprofessional behavior evolved into careless and base behavior. He began to treat his co-workers rudely, and even began making lewd comments at the women who worked at the firm. One time he actually got into a fight with a junior accountant over his sloppy accounting.
 
Finally, one month, the review committee came to the CEO with a very negative report and an ultimatum. Dan needed to be suspended from work and have all of his privileges taken away from him until he agreed to shape up. The CEO agreed with their findings, and called Dan into his massive, opulent office on the 95^th floor.
 
Hearing from his secretary that the boss was calling for him, Dan became weak in the knees. His breathing became shallow as he nervously stumbled to the elevator. It seemed like an eternity as the elevator shot up 60 stories into the clouds. He stared out the window at the world that became smaller and smaller with each passing second, and wondered how he was going to get out of the mess he made without being fired.
 
Tentatively, Dan knocked on the door. “Come in,” stated a booming, James Earl Jones-like voice. Dan barely made it over to the large, overstuffed leather chair that sat across from the six-foot-long mahogany desk and the 7-foot-tall man sitting behind it. “Do you know why I called you in today?”
 
“Uh, uh…” stammered an embarrassed Dan.
 
“It seems that you have not been fulfilling your responsibilities as of late,” the CEO said as he pulled out the list of work-related transgressions given to him by the review committee. Intimidating as ever, Mr. CEO read aloud each and every action that Dan did which went against company rules. With each line, Dan shrunk deeper into his chair, and wished he could actually disappear into the floor. No such luck. By the time the CEO finished reading the list, Dan had turned into a pile of lime jello.
 
“What do you have to say for yourself,” inquired Mr. CEO, staring at Dan with piercing eyes that seemed to look right through him. He pulled out the contract that Dan had signed upon being hired, and pointed to Clause 384, which stated that Dan could be fired if he failed to perform his designated responsibilities.
 
He had no answer. He was so shocked by the fact that he was being watched and recorded all this time, he had nothing to say. Dan sincerely regretted his many years of misbehavior, but more than anything, he was ashamed of himself. He just didn't understand why he had to mess everything up when he had it so good. All he could do was admit that he had made terrible mistakes; he completely understood if his boss wanted to fire him. After all, he didn't live up to the terms of his contract.
 
The CEO thought about it for several long moments, and said, “I'm going to give you another chance. You are very special, and an integral part of our team. I truly enjoy having you here with us. Don't mess up again.”
 
Dan could hardly contain his emotions, and nearly jumped across the mammoth desk to give his boss a hug. “I promise to do better this time!” he exclaimed as he skipped out of the office, full of renewed determination.
 
Does this story sound familiar?
 
How many of us are fulfilling our heavenly contracts? Are we praying like we should? Are we eating kosher like we should? Are we doing acts of kindness for others? What about guarding our holiness and modesty? Are we treating our children with the love and care that they deserve? Just as importantly- are we talking with our CEO?
 
Do we really understand that there is a review committee that is watching and recording all of our actions? Many times, things seem to get overlooked; particularly our transgressions. Even if we believe that Someone is watching, when it comes to doing things that we shouldn't, this belief flies right out the window. How do I know? Because if we really believed that our sins were being recorded, we would be so scared to sin, just for the fact that we would have to answer for our actions eventually!
 
This world is meant to be an illusion. People wonder why bad deeds seem to go unpunished and good deeds seem to go unrewarded. The illusion lies in the fact that punishment and reward are withheld until a later time. And by punishment, I really mean spiritual cleansing- in actuality, there is no punishment in this world. So the next logical question is: why are they withheld? That is in order to give us the free will to make our own choices, and therefore be partners with G-d in creation.
 
It seems that we have come full circle: tensions are through the roof in Israel, and the world is  ready to explode with war everywhere, it seems. God is pushing us to make a choice, just like He did when we received the Torah at Mount Sinai. Either we fulfill the terms of our contract, or there's no point of us existing at all.
 
Let's choose wisely…