Accountability

Almost ten years ago, FOCUS ON THE FAMILY’S H. B. LONDON commented on the calls his organization received on its toll-free Pastoral Care Line.  (FOCUS was making these lines available to church leaders all over the country.) During the course of a one-month period, FOCUS received over 400 calls. Out of those 400 calls, 20 % dealt with sexual issues. This prompted London to write:

“I'm repeating what I have been saying across the country for nearly a decade. If you do not have someone to whom you are accountable, you are vulnerable. If you do not give your spouse permission to ask you big questions regarding Internet use, you are vulnerable. If you do not have someone outside your door or the door ajar when you counsel a member of the opposite sex, you are vulnerable. But most of all, if you do not have a quiet, intimate time each day with the Lord -- to speak and listen and contemplate -- you are vulnerable. The proof is in the calls we receive....”

Accountability is a tremendous deterrent when it comes to sin.

Accountability

When James Dobson formed FOCUS ON THE FAMILY, he could have packed the board of directors with “yes” men. He chose not to. Instead, he named strong personalities that, at times, clashed with his own views. And when he needed to submit to the board, he did so.

We are all accountable to someone. Professors to department heads. Preachers to elders. Employees to bosses.  Politicians to the voters.

It is never easy to be accountable, but it helps us become more of who God designed us to be. Even when the advice of our overseers is bad, the act of submitting can be good.

I guess that is why the Bible spends so much time encouraging us to submit.