Proverbs 8:33 English Standard Version (ESV) Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it.

The Hebrew word here for neglect is pāraʿ which has a biblical outline of usage to lead or act as a leader. The second usage is to let go, let loose, ignore, let alone.

Yesterday we discussed the issues of having multiple accountability partners and the needs related to the condition of the heart. Trying to demonstrate the biblical encouragement in holding to that principle is not as easy as just saying “do it”. Needs are identified because we get involved.

Why this issue of neglect has been chosen to demonstrate the need for accountability is because of what neglect does to the condition of our hearts. It leads to dissatisfaction and eventually distancing ourselves from the very people that God has put in our lives to make this life in Christ richer.

Over the decades we might have noticed a certain amount of apathy among those who call themselves Christians. They might maintain the title for themselves by attending church only on sacred holidays. They neglect service because they were not served.

In the earliest days of the church there were clearly defined needs. We have records of sacrifice and service that are unparalleled today. Today church rolls may swell to the thousands but if we look closely we find only a small core of believers try desperately to serve the needs of the many.

If we do not get involved we will never know what is missing that we as individual member of the body of Christ might be capable of doing to serve one another.

This message will not reach those who attend church only twice a year. If they neglect to gather together there is no expectation that they will receive instruction from a stranger who is on a journey of discover himself.

We are not on this journey alone.

1 Samuel 2:3 English Standard Version (ESV) Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.

Pride is the condition of the heart, arrogance is evidence of that condition.

This is just one of the examples of how we might determine the condition of our own hearts.

What we say is telling, not only to ourselves but to others also. It can bolster our witness or is could stain it. Since James wrote to us about the wild nature of the tongue and the difficulty in taming it, then what we say by way of self-talk, should indicate where we need to check ourselves.

Many of us have had emotional outbursts in the past. Some of those have led to acts we regret. The idea here is to listen to the condition of the heart in our private time. Prayer can be very revealing. When done privately it can be an adventure in self-discovery.

“Do you hear yourself?”

That is possibly a comment that has been directed at ourselves by people who care about us and are trying to get our attention. Deal with the condition of the heart before actions do irreparable harm.

Isaiah 47:10 English Standard Version (ESV) You felt secure in your wickedness; you said, “No one sees me”; your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me.”

There it is, “said in your heart”. The only help for us to fight off this condition is to make sure we have allowed someone to come along beside us to speak truth in love.

The saving grace of accountability partners is in finding someone we can trust, someone who we can reveal the innermost conditions of our heart without fear. They will always have our best interest at heart.

One is good, two is better, three is best. We all have lives and relying on only one puts too much pressure on their availability.