Accountability is Ki

Where would I be without God? All of the possible answers to that question scare the hell out of me.

You want to know what else scares me? The fact that God isn't a tangible person. Probably sounds weird, but hear me out. If God was PHYSICALLY here, audibly telling me what/what not to do, I feel like my life would be easier. OR maybe I'd be disobedient and do what I was going to anyway. I'll never know. Anyway, what I do know is, God put specific people in your life to make this Christian walk thing a bit easier. I don't think I actually believed that, honestly, until this year. Better late than never though, right?

Yes, God is "all you need". That is correct. However, I guarantee that He didn’t intend for His child to walk this walk by themselves. No one can do life alone.

Usher in... accountability.

Just like most things in Christianity, accountability is SO layered and it takes a while to recognize that you need it.

1 Thessalonians 5:11

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Accountability and encouragement go hand in hand. Makes sense right? Because encouragement is so important to the body of Christ, God commands us to do it. We're not supposed to just make sure others are on track, we're supposed to encourage them to get and stay on track. It's more than gassing someone up on their Instagram post. It's about genuinely caring about the well-being of others, inside and out, and doing your part to help them reach their full potential in Christ. That sounds like a lot of responsibility, huh? Well think about all those times that you needed to be uplifted and someone did that for you. Same thing, beloved. You'd want people to look out for you in that manner, so keep that same energy.

Proverbs 27:17

Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

The point is for us to help each other get stronger in our walk. No two people are alike, which is a blessing. That allows us to pour into others where they are weak and blesses us to receive the pouring where they are strong. That's a constant in my life. I lack patience more than anything else and I can be a bit theatrical when unexpected things happen. So what has God done? He's put people in my life that exemplify these very things that I struggle with.

Won't. He. Do. It.

Yes, He will.

James 5:16

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

With the encouragement, though, comes confession. It's one of the tougher aspects of accountability, for sure. One of the worse things is to ask someone to hold you accountable for something and you fall through on your end. It makes you feel terrible. Confessing your sins to your loved ones isn't so they can condemn you. The scripture didn't say "The condemnation of a righteous person has great power..." It said "The PRAYER of a righteous person has great power..." It's for them to pray you through whatever that situation may be. I've had times where I was too weak to pray for myself and one of my male friends was so kind as to intercede for me through my weakness. I equate it to someone being nursed back to health, after being sick. I had never experienced that before and it literally changed my life. I'll never forget it.

When I think of accountability, another word comes to mind: community. They're one in the same.

I dedicate my first blog post to my family from LIT Bible Study. In them, God blessed me with what I didn’t know I needed: a group of individuals who are chasing after God right along with me, stumbles and all. Thank you for accepting me for who I truly am, holding me accountable, and pouring into me in ways that I could’ve never imagined. I love y'all with my whole heart.

If you would like to connect with LIT Bible Study and experience a community of believers like no other, I strongly encourage you to do so. We meet at For Oak Cliff, every Tuesday at 7 pm. You won’t regret it. Connect with me so I can connect you to LIT. You won't regret it.