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Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do. Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord. Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father, through him.
—Colossians 3:12-17 WEB*
To be accountable is to be responsible for one’s actions. Accountability is essential in any society or organization. All of us are held accountable in one way or another. For example, if we fail to obey the laws of our society, we risk the consequences set by the officials who hold us accountable.
In the same way, God holds us accountable and he has good reason—we are His. God purchased us with the very dear price of His Son (1 Corinthians 6:18-20). In fact, since we are His, we all will give an account of ourselves to Him one day (Romans 14:10-12; 2 Corinthians 5:10). To prepare for this accounting, we should therefore understand the standard by which God will measure us. So what is God’s standard for us?
God’s Word tells us we are to have a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance. We are to bear with one another and forgive each other, just as Christ has forgiven us. We should walk in love, let God’s peace rule in our hearts, and be thankful. The words of Christ should dwell in us richly and should be evident in our teaching and our admonishing of one another. And any teaching or admonishing should come through our praise, our singing and with grace in our hearts to our Lord. Everything that we say or do must be done in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and with thanksgiving to God (Colossians 3:12-17).
How does God train us in being accountable? He uses our fellow believers. They are His tools not only for bringing the lost to Him, to train His own in His service (Proverbs 27:17).
Why should we yield to this training by our fellow believers? Because we are all part of the Body of Christ and no matter our roles or our gifts, we all are to work well together for His glory (1 Corinthians chapter 12).
We must encourage each other in our faith (Hebrews 3:12-14). If someone does falter, we are to work to restore him or her in a spirit of gentleness, and to remember that we are just as frail as they (Galatians 6:1). We must confess our offenses to one another and pray for one another (James 5:16).
To help us be accountable, every believer should have at least one person in which to confide, pray with, listen to, and encourage. We must seek out those believers who are quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger (James 1:19). They must not view us with an attitude of judgment (Matthew 7:12). And in addition to their love for God, they must care for us deeply as a brother or sister in Christ (1 John 4:21). Finally, we must not only seek these qualities in others, but we must emulate them ourselves so that others will seek us out as they wish to be held accountable.
Are you accountable to someone? I pray that you will be very soon!
--Jimmy Thomas
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* WEB – the World English Bible, a Public Domain, Modern English translation of the Holy Bible developed by Rainbow Missions, Inc. URL: http://ebible.org
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