Who Are You Accountable To - Part II

Who Are You Accountable To – Part Two

I’m probably going to raise a few eyebrows with this next sentence.
I learned a very important lesson about accountability from a movie. A movie called Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. (Have you recovered? Good, then keep reading because this is a good post!)

For those of you who have not seen the above mentioned movie I’ll need to fill you in on a few important details. Harry Potter is a normal teen-aged boy who lost both of his parents at a very young age. He goes to a private “boarding-school” and in this series of the movies he is having problems with his friends. He is alone and trying to figure out what his life is really about. While he is at school Harry is introduced to a girl named Luna Lovegood. She also has lost her mother and is teased by many of the other students. She takes it in stride and has learned to look the other way. In one particular scene of the movie she and Harry are watching these very odd creatures called Thestrals. Harry finds out from Luna that you can only see these creatures if you have seen death. While they are talking Luna confesses to Harry that she and her father believe him that their enemy, “You-Know-Who”, has returned and that he indeed intends on destroying them all with his hatred and fury. During this discussion Luna says something that has stuck in my mind since the first time I heard it. She said, “If I were “You-Know-Who” I’d want you to feel cut off from everyone else because if it’s just you (I have to fight) alone you’re not as much of a threat.”.

If you are reading this and you are a Christ follower then I Peter 5:8 should be a pretty familiar verse to you. It speaks of our enemy and his master plan for those of us who follow Christ. When someone feels alone and detached they are so much easier to sway. I know this to be true in my own life. When I don’t have any real friends I can turn to, I am more vulnerable to turn to someone who may not have my best interests at heart. Someone who may just want to be my “friend” so that they can have the inside scoop on the latest church gossip.

We were never meant to do life on our own. Never! All throughout the Bible you see God bringing someone along side of the men and women He called into service. Moses had Aaron, David had Jonathan, Jesus had Peter and Paul had Timothy. If you start thinking you can do this on your own, then you’re heading down a dangerous road.

When I first moved to Raleigh, NC I knew no one but Jeff. I had no real friends for a long time. We lived forty-five minutes from the town that our church was in and I was the only person my age at my job. This was a very lonely time for me and I struggled with many issues in my walk with God. Over time I made a few close friends and even started an accountability relationship with one of them. However, soon after that we moved to Columbia, SC and I had to start all over again. The same struggles arose and I had to fight them even harder. But a few years ago a sweet friend decided that some of the leadership wives needed to get together and hold each other accountable. Without a doubt this group has been used by God to give me strength and courage in my walk with Him and in my daily life. I know that I have a safe and loving environment where I can go and share my frustrations and fears. I have a group of ladies that will exercise tough love on me when I need it and comfort me when I need it. James 5:16 says (in essence) that there is healing for the Christian who confesses their sins to another. I believe that God knows we cannot carry the weight of our families, our job, our husband’s ministry and our lives alone. I believe our enemy knows that if he can hold our guilt over our heads long enough then we will live lives that reflect defeat and not the life of victory we have in Jesus.

If you are in an accountability relationship then thank God that He has blessed you and keep going! If you do not have this, then I encourage you to take a few minutes after you read this and think about who you could ask to join you in an accountability relationship. Take a few days and pray about this person. Ask God to show you if they are someone you can trust and if they are mature enough to love you and discipline you when you need it.
I hope that you will come back on Friday! I’ll be talking about how to start an accountability relationship and some pointers on how to keep it real and effective.