Monday, September 28, 2009
Spiritual Accountability
So I've been working on answering the question a friend posed to me the other week...."What do you think of spiritual accountability"?....well...I have sort of had an idea of what that exactly is, but I needed to be sure...so after some study...here are some thoughts I've come up with...
"So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover’s life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God." -Philippians 1:9-10
Holy friendship – spiritual accountability – must begin with loving with the heart of Christ.
but most importantly….With the heart of Christ.
But what is true accountability? What model should we use?
Flourishing Love: We must have an open, honest, loving relationship with one another. Without it, we cannot fully trust that what we confess is going to stay with the person we confess it to.
Love much and Love well: We must love each other with the love of Christ, because without that love, true accountability is meaningless.
Love appropriately: This one is tough. We must be honest with each other, no matter how ugly the truth is.. and trust that the other person is going to remain loyal.
Use your head/test your feelings: We must balance our feelings with the word of God above anything else.
Live a life that Jesus would be proud of: This one is self explanatory.
Getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God: This is the one that is so meaningful.
True accountability is caring about someone so much that your desire is to help them live a life that brings them & others closer to Christ....not closer to you...and that is something I have been "trapped" by the deceiver, no doubt!
Now lets take a look at what Spiritual accountability is not:
-To gossip about others
-To be judgmental of others
The most difficult thing, to me...is not the gossiping or the judging...but the "story" behind the person I want to pray for. I am an information person. I am an intellectual. I need information...but I am learning day by day to rely on God to provide the answers...
Gossiping and Judging others grieves the heart of Christ, and we need to be very very careful that we do not turn our spiritual accountability with someone into a spiritual “beating” of another person. Trust me, it is so very easy to do… sometimes without even knowing you're doing it. It could be as simple as using someones behavior as an example and then it goes south from there, turning into something that it never was intended to become. I know...I lost someone I had a very big heart for over it!
Christian life is hard enough… and you need someone you can trust wholeheartedly with the good, bad and not so pretty. I think I have many in my church family I can turn to for this...and it makes me cry tears of joy everyday!
So I encourage you, if you do not have one already, to get a spiritual accountability partner. If NOTHING ELSE, talk to your Pastor/Elder and ask him to hold you accountable, or to reccommend someone to get to know once he/she gets to know you a little.
Trust me.. It is a difficult process, but oh so very worth it in the end.
"So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover’s life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God." -Philippians 1:9-10
Holy friendship – spiritual accountability – must begin with loving with the heart of Christ.
but most importantly….With the heart of Christ.
But what is true accountability? What model should we use?
Flourishing Love: We must have an open, honest, loving relationship with one another. Without it, we cannot fully trust that what we confess is going to stay with the person we confess it to.
Love much and Love well: We must love each other with the love of Christ, because without that love, true accountability is meaningless.
Love appropriately: This one is tough. We must be honest with each other, no matter how ugly the truth is.. and trust that the other person is going to remain loyal.
Use your head/test your feelings: We must balance our feelings with the word of God above anything else.
Live a life that Jesus would be proud of: This one is self explanatory.
Getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God: This is the one that is so meaningful.
True accountability is caring about someone so much that your desire is to help them live a life that brings them & others closer to Christ....not closer to you...and that is something I have been "trapped" by the deceiver, no doubt!
Now lets take a look at what Spiritual accountability is not:
-To gossip about others
-To be judgmental of others
The most difficult thing, to me...is not the gossiping or the judging...but the "story" behind the person I want to pray for. I am an information person. I am an intellectual. I need information...but I am learning day by day to rely on God to provide the answers...
Gossiping and Judging others grieves the heart of Christ, and we need to be very very careful that we do not turn our spiritual accountability with someone into a spiritual “beating” of another person. Trust me, it is so very easy to do… sometimes without even knowing you're doing it. It could be as simple as using someones behavior as an example and then it goes south from there, turning into something that it never was intended to become. I know...I lost someone I had a very big heart for over it!
Christian life is hard enough… and you need someone you can trust wholeheartedly with the good, bad and not so pretty. I think I have many in my church family I can turn to for this...and it makes me cry tears of joy everyday!
So I encourage you, if you do not have one already, to get a spiritual accountability partner. If NOTHING ELSE, talk to your Pastor/Elder and ask him to hold you accountable, or to reccommend someone to get to know once he/she gets to know you a little.
Trust me.. It is a difficult process, but oh so very worth it in the end.
