“Love is the best accountability.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – August 30, 2024
Love hopes all things. 1 Corinthians 13:7
I am learning this from our four sons-in-law, who all love each other and have grown to become best friends, that love is the best accountability. When you love somebody, you don’t want to let them down. Over the past fifteen years, the four sons (they have asked me to call them sons; wow, I am humbled and deeply honored) and I meet once a month for dinner and a movie. The dinner is a deep dive into how they are really doing. And I’m keenly interested in how their wives are doing! I used to call these investment meetings, as we all have a lot invested, and it’s reassuring to get an update on our return on investment! Their vulnerability, teachability, and humility inspire me to model the same in my relationships. Yes, love is the best accountability.
You may say, Do I really need accountability? I know what I need to do. I just need to do it. There’s your answer! Loving accountability facilitates application. You do much better when someone watches you and expects you to follow through. This is why Christian marriage counseling is a good investment for couples. You are on your best behavior in a safe environment with a third party you respect and trust. And since the counselor is a follower of Jesus, he or she loves you and wants the Lord’s very best for your life and marriage. Loving accountability helps you move beyond the crazy cycle of never making progress and the feeling of going backward to the hope of knowing you are not alone and that you are growing in how you serve and love those who love you the most. Loving accountability grows your capacity to love since your loving Lord is who you are accountable to first. Knowing and loving God means you know He expects you to love and act like Jesus. Loving accountability leads to good change.
The best gift of all, is that the Lord holds you lovingly accountable, and when you love God with your heart, mind, and strength, you want to please Him with your emotional, mental, and physical health. An early Church Father, St. John Chrysostom, describes the Lord’s loving accountability, “God does not require anything from us that is beyond our strength. But having shown His love, He seeks from us nothing but that we should desire His friendship. When we sin, He does not abandon us; rather, He chastens us so that He may bring us back to Himself. His correction is a sign of His love, not His wrath.” The Lord is your friend who disciplines and points you toward the right path to protect you from moving from bad to worse. His love warns you that sin leads to death, but obedience and love lead to life.
A humble heart is aware and teachable to change from the warning signs of loving accountability from family, friends, and the Lord. One warning sign that flashes is fatigued faith. Like a muscle in the body, when you fail to exercise your faith in church worship, personal prayers, Bible study, and service to others, your faith weakens and is unable to sustain you through life’s good and bad days. Hyperactivity is another warning. You are so busy that you neglect to care for yourself and care for those who care for you. Make investments of personal focused time with family and friends to be known and to know them. Calendar time for yourself to rest, be grateful, do nothing, or do what gives you life. Relational investments bear the fruit of trust, love, and fun! One last warning is a feeling of being superior to others. You act like you are more important by how you talk too much, listen poorly, and lack an emotional understanding of what others in your life really need from you. Loving accountability helps you grow like Jesus.
Prayer
Lord, help me embrace Your loving accountability. When I stray, gently correct me, that I may grow in Your truth and grace. Teach me to trust Your discipline as a sign of Your deep love for me. Strengthen my heart to seek Your ways and live a life pleasing to You. Amen.
Application
Consider forming a community of accountability. Check out this writing that will give you some ideas.
Related Reading
Psalm 94:12; Proverbs 3:11-12; Hebrews 12:6; Revelation 3:19
Worship Resource
Elevation Worship/Jenna Barrientes: Great Is
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