Accountable…Me?

All of us have been disappointed by someone. A parent. A pastor. An employer. A friend.

I’ve also disappointed me! And I bet you disappointed yourself as well. It’s hard to watch the news without seeing another well known person fall. It could be us.

So, let me ask you…who holds you accountable? Romans 14:12 (“So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God”) reminds us that ultimately it’s God we are accountable to. But aren’t you grateful that God allows humans in the body of Christ to walk beside us on this earth? Those who love us, but aren’t impressed by us. Those who will ask us hard questions and steer us back when we go off track.

Take a minute to write down the names of at least 3 people who you could call at midnight in a crisis. Those who you can be completely honest with. Those you would ask advice from in a life decision.

If you struggled to write these names, ask God to reveal with whom He would desire you develop this type of relationship.

James 5:16 tell us to “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.” We desperately need this “power”. Women who will pray us through tough times and difficult decisions.

Possible questions we want them to ask us:

What is God teaching you right now?
Are you in the Word daily?
How did you speak to those closest to you this week?
How can I pray for you? (and how did God answer?)
How did God use you this week?
Do you need to forgive someone?
Do you need to ask forgiveness from someone?

You add questions to this list. Ask yourself if you are WILLING to let someone ask you these questions. Then tell them…”You have permission to tell me if you see me dishonoring the Lord in any way.” Be willing to listen to them as you allow God to use these relationships to refine you and make you more Christlike.

Isolation is a tool of the devil. These friends are our safety net to help us walk His way and avoid relational, spiritual, or moral failure along our journey. When we DO fall, they will encourage us to repent and learn from the failure so we do not repeat those offenses.

In Eric Geiger’s book How to Ruin Your Life , he mentions this in the chapter “Isolate Yourself”: “To implode, choose isolation over community.” You might want to get a copy!