The Power of Accountability

I don’t know about you but I am a very private person. While I can be very hard on myself, I’m not a big fan of others being hard on me (it just adds to my self-inflicted pain and suffering). Unnecessary vulnerability is not my favorite place. (Oops – I just made myself unnecessarily vulnerable.)  My “dirty underwear” will rarely be seen in public (while not denying that I have dirty underwear). There’s just one problem with that hyper-private tendency: It blocks certain areas of personal, spiritual growth and it creates an environment where sin can thrive. (Sin grows best in hidden places.)

On the other hand, Scripture raises the value of things like honesty and openness and the confession of sin, qualities referred to generally as “walking in the light.” Consider these important passages: “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God” (John 3:19-21). Everyone has a basic urge to keep evil deeds hidden in darkness. “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). “Walking in the light” is simply walking in the light of Jesus who brought the liberating power of his light into our lives. “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness” (John 12:46). In fact, in his preaching Paul summarized the mission and message of Jesus as “the message of light” (Acts 26:23), and refers to the kingdom of God as “the kingdom of light” (Colossians 1:12). For that reason, Paul exhorted Christ-followers, “The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light” (Romans 13:12). Paul went on to ask, “For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14). Paul also summarizes the Jesus Way like this: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8), and “But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:4-6). The problem with light is that it exposes everything – and who likes to be exposed? However, once we have allowed ourselves to be exposed to the light, we become a light in the midst of darkness. “But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light” (Ephesians 5:13).

Paul wasn’t the only New Testament writer who referred to a life lived in the light of Christ. Peter taught, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). The apostle John loved to refer to the need to “walk in the light”: “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7), and “Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble” (1 John 2:9).

All this paints a clear picture of living openly and honestly, with transparency and integrity. The key idea is what the Bible calls “confession,” as in, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed” (James 5:16). “Confessions” simply means “to say the same thing, to agree.” Confession means to agree with God concerning his view of our lives, including our sins, faults and weaknesses. When we agree with God, and even verbalize our agreement, it has the effect of bringing our sins out into the light, exposing them to the light, and in the process, breaking their power. As you know, there can be no forgiveness without repentance, and there can be no repentance without confession. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). When we expose our sins to the light, we will no longer blame others, rationalize, minimize or seek to excuse any aspect of our sin. Instead, we will take full responsibility of our folly and the consequences of our sin.

In that way we can easily appreciate the power of accountability. One of the deepest, most profound relationships we can have with someone is an accountability relationship. It is a sacred relationship, relying on God to bring the right people into each other’s life. It is a high-level trust relationship, governed by consistent confidentiality. It is a covenant relationship, guided by a clear commitment to pray for each other’s healing. In an accountability relationship we give each other permission to ask, “How are you doing in this area?” with a commitment to always answering honestly. Very few things are more liberating or empowering than a godly accountability relationship. Unfortunately, very few ever take the time to explore relationships deeply enough to carve out an accountability relationship with a brother or sister. We know that in the end, “the whole world [will be] held accountable to God” (Romans 3:19). However, we have the option of holding ourselves accountable in our present life by having that kind of relationship with another dedicated Christ-follower. Are you willing to explore that possibility? If so, begin to ask God to show you someone he knows will be a source of healing in your life.