And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Doing a word search in my bible app for accountability results in this quote from Hebrews. It is not the answer I was hoping to find, but I already knew that the bible doesn’t use the word accountability. At least not in any version I use.
When I decided to join SRC in San Marcos, the first thing I asked the pastor was for an accountability partner. He pointed me to the best one I have ever had.
In the past my accountability partners would listen to what was bothering me and would let me off the hook with comments like, “We all struggle with that” or “That just means you’re human”.
When I have a problem with my thoughts or behaviors and I am troubled in my soul, the last thing I need is to be “let off the hook”. That is not what a good accountability partner is for.
In our first meeting my current partner said “Why are you trying to one up me?”
That told me right away I had the right man in my corner. He spoke truth to me about a behavior I wasn’t even aware of at the time.
How we represent Christ to others is important and if we don’t have someone who can find a way to speak truth in love, we will struggle alone.
I had come out of a new church where the pastor was in dire need of help in a new church and while he was a great bible teacher he failed to build up a new generation of leaders. He could not communicate his vision and held everyone to unrealistic standards. He demoted his associate pastor because the man held a Super Bowl party in his apartment.
We are all answerable to God but if we cannot find someone in our group that cannot speak truth in love, we will find ourselves feeling lonely in a crowded room.
The older I get the closer “that Day” appears before me. There is a real sense of urgency and in that I need my accountability partner to bounce my thoughts against. He listens and gives me honest feedback. He is another set of eyes looking to the needs of my calling in Christ when my flesh sometimes hides the light in the depths of my emotions.
God’s timing is perfect and my feelings of desperation can be overwhelming in these days of extreme error. Seeing the truth does not always tell you what to do about it.