Back in high school I used to run cross country. It was known as the sport that never got cancelled despite horrendous weather. There are two races in particular that stand out vividly in my mind where I remember running through torrential downpours. One was during my sophomore year at the DeSales Invitational, while the other was a dual meet at Montrose during my senior year. At the DeSales Invitational, it began downpouring as we were walking the course. It rained so hard in the matter of 90 minutes that a small stream that was only a foot wide and an inch deep when we walked the course ended up being ten feet wide and two feet deep at certain points by the beginning of the race. It was definitely a treacherous portion of the course that devoured some racing spikes off the feet of those who were unprepared and hadn't taped them to their feet. The day I ran at Montrose, it had downpoured all day, so the team was prepared for a mud fest. Without the proper spikes, we all would have been slipping and sliding all over the place. Fortunately, we were all prepared and the only fall occurred about 100 yards into the downhill start when I stepped in a hole and slid on my butt as fast as the rest of the pack was running.
I mention these stories to demonstrate how one must be prepared and aware in the sport of running to avoid slipping and falling, or potentially losing shoes. Without foreknowledge during poor weather, the potential for disaster increases. The same goes for the unprepared and unaware Christian. Satan desperately wants to trip people up so they slide back into the ways of worldliness. He prides himself on infusing individuals with pride that leads to self righteousness, lusts that lead to adultery, or envy that leads to covetousness. He may even work in more subtle ways, like causing an obsession with social media and your amount of followers, or putting you in situations where it might be easy to fall back into a dependence on alcohol.
We've all encountered particular temptations and fought battles in our minds over our desires to be popular and important, fashionable and in vogue, along with wealthy and well to do. The Bible contains its fair share of warnings against these wordly temptations, most strikingly in Matthew 16:26, which states, "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?" Many do not live with an eternal perspective, but prefer to settle and be focused on the here and now. With this single-mindedness and tunnel vision, people strive for wealth and material possessions, rather than chasing after God. They forget the words Jesus uttered in Mark 10:23, reminding us of the near impossibility of a wealthy man finding his way to heaven.
"Lose My Soul" is a song by TobyMac featuring Kirk Franklin and Mandisa that hits the nail on the head when it comes to the topic of worldliness. Towards the end of the song, Mandisa sings the following lines: "How do I sense the tide that's rising? De-sensitizing me from living in light of eternity. How do I sense the tide that's rising? Hypnotizing me from living in the light of eternity." This is a perfect description of how people live their lives today; de-sensitived to real issues and hypnotized by all of the temptations of the world. The pressure to maintain status leads to covetousness, that is, desiring the possessions that others have and hoping to acquire them. Even in his book Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel, Rolf Potts wrote, "There is still an overwhelming social compulsion--an insanity of consensus, if you will--to get rich from life rather than live richly, to 'do well' in the world instead of living well." Rather than focusing on what we do not have, people need to heed Jesus' warning and reminder in Luke 12:15 to not fall victim to covetousness because there is more to life than possessions. Unfortunately for many, though, the need for status is the driving force behind their lives, which only plunges them into despair and potential substance abuse.
Sinking into the quagmire of worldliness is dangerous for the Christian. There's a difference between mingling with the worldly and being of the world. One can strive to be successful, yet still have Jesus as the driving force behind that success. The trick is to maintain a close relationship with God through prayer and reading the Bible, along with having a close group of brothers or sisters in Christ who can help you out when you feel yourself sliding down the slippery slope into the murky waters of the world. It's good to have a close few who can keep you in check and pray for you when you sense you're sliding into the depths of wealth, status, potential substance abuse, impatience, envy, anger, and any other number of worldly actions and desires. They can suggest scriptures, pray, and keep focused wholeheartedly on Jesus.
A beautiful analogy for how this Christian partnership can work mirrors my recent experience at the 5K Foam Fest. One of the first obstacles in the race involved going through a mudpit. The suction power of this mud was so great that some people either lost shoes or couldn't move their feet. My friend's feet were completely stuck, so I had to literally pull her forward to garner enough momentum in order for her feet to be released from the grip of the mud. Then, in order to get out of the mud pit, we had to climb out using a rope and teamwork. I helped my friend climb out first and then she helped pull me out so that I didn't slip and fall back into the mud.
As Christians, this is how we must function, utilizing teamwork and resources to combat against slipping down into worldliness. We must constantly communicate with God and be familiar with the Scriptures so the devil doesn't gain a stronghold in our brains. Also, we must maintain a support system of fellow Christians whom we can trust to pray for us in difficult times and who can offer support in our times of weakness. They must be people you can be open and honest with so that their prayers can be specific to target the battle you're fighting against Satan and the world. Finally, if you're unsure about where your own heart might stand at this point in time, use Luke 12:34 as a kind of litmus test: "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
Showing posts with label Accountability. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Accountability. Show all posts
Friday, July 12, 2013
Thursday, May 3, 2012
The Necessity for Accountability
"And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all." ~1 Thessalonians 5:14
I believe a variable missing from society as a whole in America in this day and age is accountability. This concept seems to have died out with the coming of age of the American Dream. The American Dream is an individualistic, self-centered attitude based upon hard work, ensuring that nobody has to be accountable for his or her actions. Unfortunately, this is why America's infrastructure and economy now seems to be crumbling because nobody reminded anybody to save and then pay, or to even pay bills at all. Why else would individual, state, or national debt be so high?
I believe part of the reason is that nobody chose to "admonish the idle" since our concerns are focused upon self, as opposed to society. Everybody likes to blame society for all of the problems, but those same people tend to forget that they in fact are also part of the same society. We are all interconnected, whether we like it or not. No longer should we adopt the attitude of, "It doesn't involve me, so it's not my problem." Instead, God urges us to hold others accountable, but also to encourage and help those who are fainthearted and weak. If we focus inwardly on ourselves, we miss out on chances to help others who are truly in need.
Accountability has many forms. It should be used within the church in order to ensure that all the members are doing their best to maintain their walks with Christ. In the community, it could help promote honesty and concern among neighbors. Where accountability is helping me most at the moment, though, is within the sphere of running. I have not maintained a consistent running schedule since I ran my marathon last year, which has been rather frustrating. Part of me just needed a break from the sport, but part of me longed for the enjoyment of cruising along trails. Thankfully I have been blessed with someone from Bible study who has taken upon the task of holding me accountable when it comes to running. We both benefit because he is an aspiring running coach and I am in need of a more structured training regimen. Knowing that somebody will be checking in with me about whether or not I chose to run is definitely a great motivator.
I believe that if a more structured form of accountability was established within churches in America, many would put more thought behind their actions. Knowing that we will be questioned about our decisions in day to day life should help motivate people to draw closer to Christ and try to walk in a way pleasing to Him. Accountability encourages us to take responsibility in our lives and promotes caring to others within the community. I think it's about time we all tried some on for size.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Accountability, Authority, and Encouragement
Accountability is a concept that popped into my head during Bible Study on Sunday night. I'm not exactly sure why, but it might have stemmed from our discussion about how we as humans react to authority. Our study was based on Matthew 8:1-17, which discusses Christ's authoritative actions and words, along with the faithful Centurion. What was outlined was how we are all under some form of authority and held accountable for our actions. A hierarchy was created in order to illustrate this concept. Children under parents. Wives under husbands. Parents under church elders. Church elders under Jesus. Jesus under God. This gives us a sense of who on Earth we must be held accountable to, along with demonstrating how we are all accountable to Jesus and God.
As I was surfing the internet trying to gather more insight into the matter of accountability, I came across an article entitled, Accountability, by Kenneth Boa. I found the beginning quite interesting because he discusses how we are more apt to deal with issues after they arise and boil over instead of confronting them when they are relatively minor and easy to handle. One of the most striking illustrations that reminded me of my own life was when the author quoted Neil Plantinga saying: "We deny, suppress, or minimize what we know to be true. We assert, adorn, and elevate what we know to be false. We prettify ugly realities and sell ourselves the prettified versions. Thus a liar might transform 'I tell a lot of lies to shore up my pride' to 'Occasionally, I finesse the truth in order to spare other people’s feelings.'" I think we all accidentally fall into this trap of trying to spare other people's feelings as a way of avoiding confronting the real problems. Thus the reason we are called to encourage on another and hold each other accountable.
1 Corinthians 12 discusses how we are all members of the body of Christ and we must all work together and help each other. This excerpt from 1 Corinthians 12:12; 14; 18-20; 24-27 provides a decent illustration of the matter: "Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body...But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it." This is proof that we must all work together as one body and help each other out when necessary. The notes from my NIV Life Application Study Bible stated the following: "Believers are in the world together--there is no such thing as private or individualistic Christianity. We shouldn't stop with enjoying only our own relationship with God; we need to get involved in the lives of others."
There is a distinct need to be involved in each other's lives. We are all part of one great big community in Christ and we are meant to uplift one another, along with holding each other accountable when we stray away from the Word. Now this does not mean that we point out everybody's faults and put ourselves up on a pedestal. We must kindly rebuke others, provide advice, carry each other's burdens, and encourage one another. Truth is necessary in the framework of accountability, even though it is occasionally hard to swallow. Ephesians 4:25 mentions the necessity for truth in order to maintain unity: "Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body." We are all scared to speak the truth due to the potential harm that it might cause. Sometimes it is hard for others to see your viewpoint and remaining quiet seems like the best option. Unfortunately, this tends to prolong the issue, making it more difficult to deal with down the road. This is when we must seek out advice from fellow Christians in order to figure out how to handle a problem. In the process of doing so, some of your own faults might be pointed out, and one must accept this with dignity and not revenge. Proverbs 19:20-21 discusses the importance of listening to advice and discipline when it states, “Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise. Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” Nobody enjoys being disciplined. It takes a very discerning person to humble himself in order to accept what is being said and try to incorporate the advice in order to continue following the Lord's purpose. I'm not saying that this will be easy by any means, but it is important to allow others to correct you out of love in order to rebuild what is broken.
We all struggle with sin, which occasionally blinds us to any wrongdoing in our lives. If we sense that one of our fellow Christians has stumbled, we must gently help guide them back to the right path. We are not meant to go through life on our own. Instead, we are called to help one another and receive help. Galatians 6:1-2 states, "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." We are specifically instructed to bear the weight of other's misfortunes and grievances in order to lighten the load. This is exactly what being apart of one body in Christ and sharing in community is all about.
The foundation of any community should involve encouragement. This can help bolster morale and keep others from throwing in the towel when they are struggling and have a strong desire to just give up. I will leave you with two excerpts about encouragement. The first can be found in the book of Hebrews while the second is found in 1 Thessalonians. I hope that these will serve as a reminder to look outside your own little world and the stresses you are dealing with and turn your focus to those around you who may be struggling with the same issues or something much harder.
"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." ~Hebrews 10:24
"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else." ~1 Thessalonians 5:11-15
As I was surfing the internet trying to gather more insight into the matter of accountability, I came across an article entitled, Accountability, by Kenneth Boa. I found the beginning quite interesting because he discusses how we are more apt to deal with issues after they arise and boil over instead of confronting them when they are relatively minor and easy to handle. One of the most striking illustrations that reminded me of my own life was when the author quoted Neil Plantinga saying: "We deny, suppress, or minimize what we know to be true. We assert, adorn, and elevate what we know to be false. We prettify ugly realities and sell ourselves the prettified versions. Thus a liar might transform 'I tell a lot of lies to shore up my pride' to 'Occasionally, I finesse the truth in order to spare other people’s feelings.'" I think we all accidentally fall into this trap of trying to spare other people's feelings as a way of avoiding confronting the real problems. Thus the reason we are called to encourage on another and hold each other accountable.
1 Corinthians 12 discusses how we are all members of the body of Christ and we must all work together and help each other. This excerpt from 1 Corinthians 12:12; 14; 18-20; 24-27 provides a decent illustration of the matter: "Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body...But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it." This is proof that we must all work together as one body and help each other out when necessary. The notes from my NIV Life Application Study Bible stated the following: "Believers are in the world together--there is no such thing as private or individualistic Christianity. We shouldn't stop with enjoying only our own relationship with God; we need to get involved in the lives of others."
There is a distinct need to be involved in each other's lives. We are all part of one great big community in Christ and we are meant to uplift one another, along with holding each other accountable when we stray away from the Word. Now this does not mean that we point out everybody's faults and put ourselves up on a pedestal. We must kindly rebuke others, provide advice, carry each other's burdens, and encourage one another. Truth is necessary in the framework of accountability, even though it is occasionally hard to swallow. Ephesians 4:25 mentions the necessity for truth in order to maintain unity: "Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body." We are all scared to speak the truth due to the potential harm that it might cause. Sometimes it is hard for others to see your viewpoint and remaining quiet seems like the best option. Unfortunately, this tends to prolong the issue, making it more difficult to deal with down the road. This is when we must seek out advice from fellow Christians in order to figure out how to handle a problem. In the process of doing so, some of your own faults might be pointed out, and one must accept this with dignity and not revenge. Proverbs 19:20-21 discusses the importance of listening to advice and discipline when it states, “Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise. Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” Nobody enjoys being disciplined. It takes a very discerning person to humble himself in order to accept what is being said and try to incorporate the advice in order to continue following the Lord's purpose. I'm not saying that this will be easy by any means, but it is important to allow others to correct you out of love in order to rebuild what is broken.
We all struggle with sin, which occasionally blinds us to any wrongdoing in our lives. If we sense that one of our fellow Christians has stumbled, we must gently help guide them back to the right path. We are not meant to go through life on our own. Instead, we are called to help one another and receive help. Galatians 6:1-2 states, "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." We are specifically instructed to bear the weight of other's misfortunes and grievances in order to lighten the load. This is exactly what being apart of one body in Christ and sharing in community is all about.
The foundation of any community should involve encouragement. This can help bolster morale and keep others from throwing in the towel when they are struggling and have a strong desire to just give up. I will leave you with two excerpts about encouragement. The first can be found in the book of Hebrews while the second is found in 1 Thessalonians. I hope that these will serve as a reminder to look outside your own little world and the stresses you are dealing with and turn your focus to those around you who may be struggling with the same issues or something much harder.
"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." ~Hebrews 10:24
"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else." ~1 Thessalonians 5:11-15
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