Taylor - Made Accountability

Scripture is very clear that as the body of Christ, we are to help one another stay faithful to the teachings of Christ and to admonish one another (Colossians 3:16). So why is it so hard for believers to do this? I believe partly it is because love and gentleness aren’t being brought into the equation. Love that is “not resentful” is equivalent to God’s grace. God chooses to not keep score of our sin, and He provided Christ as a propitiation for our sins even though we deserve His wrath. Having been justified by our Faith (Romans 5:1) we are forgiven. We need to keep our focus on God, and even though we are sinners, He shows us love. This is how we need to be treating one another. Christ explains this clearly in Luke 6:27-28; ‘But I say unto you which hear, love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.’

Accountability is a word that many of us do not understand. Many of our actions are never given consideration that at some point we will suffer repercussions for them.

When our actions are contrary to God’s Word, we are accountable for what we choose to do. By holding a fellow brother or sister accountable does not mean to determine whether or not they’re guilty, it simply means that we care about them enough to lovingly correct them using scripture as guidance when needed. The motive should never be to punish them but to help them examine themselves.

Being corrected is one of the most difficult things to accept. I’ve been there. We tend to become defensive when someone is trying to correct us. One of the things that keeps me from becoming so cynical toward them is to simply thank God for those that are holding me accountable. It shows me that they care, and my actions are important to them. Even with good intentions in mind, it is easy to let things slip. When someone is holding me accountable, I realize they care enough for me to not want me to fall through the cracks. Most importantly, accountability helps to keep me from straying down the wrong path; the path that leads me astray from God.

One day we will stand before God and we will have to give an account of our life here on earth. Will you let others hold you accountable?