Accountability – Get It!

How much better to get wisdom than gold,
and good judgment than silver!

The path of the virtuous leads away from evil;
whoever follows that path is safe.

Pride goes before destruction,
and haughtiness before a fall.      Proverbs 16:16-18 (NLT)

I am sad today. I am grieving over the fall of a man of God. He has been a pastor and worker in God’s vineyard for many years. Rev. Sam Hinn has stepped down from his position as pastor because he has been in a relationship with a woman who is not his wife. The ripple effect of this will hurt many of God’s children, including Rev. Hinn and his family. But it is the “baby Christians” who are members of his home church, the Dallas-Ft. Worth church that he recently led while their pastor was battling cancer, and many who know him from his books and work with his brother that my heart hurts the most. He was seen as a leader in God’s Church, an example of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. They are stunned and hurt. “The restoration process” will not only be for Rev. Hinn but for these people as well.

It would be easy for me to sit here in my elevated chair and say, “Brother! What were you thinking?” as Rev. Hinn’s sin seems so obvious. Being unfaithful to my spouse is not a temptation for me. But just as that observation crosses my mind, I can quickly list many options that would be a temptation! And Jesus knows my weaknesses. God does not want me to fall. He wants me to have victory in this life but He knows who and what I am (since He created me!) and so He has a plan.

If I read the book of Acts, I see a concept called accountability. It was never God’s plan for Peter or James or John to be the head of His Church. He knew that we were not meant to be solo bodies. We need each other. We need the accountability of each other. Remember how Peter got off track in Acts 10 and 11? Paul holds Peter accountable for his inconsistent, even hypocritical, behavior. Paul has his own problems in getting along with others. I suspect he needed Silas and Luke to keep him in check.

I am so grateful to have an “accountability sister.” A wise person (I can’t even remember who was the messenger that God used) told me about the need for accountability. And so I prayed that God would send me His choice. I had a vision of us sitting at a bistro table with a pot of tea and our Bibles, studying and talking about our LORD. But God knew me. He knew that I had a strong personality and I would need someone that I could not intimidate. And that is who He sent to me and she has been my friend, spiritual workout partner, and encourager for almost 15 years. God has taught us how to balance being supportive with never giving up honesty that corrects and brings spiritual growth.

My friends and fellow disciples, if you do not have a person that holds you accountable in your spiritual life – pray for one NOW! To continue in your spiritual journey without one is like going fifty miles off shore in a rowboat without a life preserver. It doesn’t matter if you know how to swim or how well you know how to swim, you need that jacket to keep you afloat in rough seas. “But I have Jesus!” “But I have the Holy Spirit to correct me!” Yes, so do I but I don’t always want to hear what He has to say. Sometimes my flesh wants – what it wants! I know right from wrong. I know what sin is. I also know how to rationalize “stuff” when my voice is the only one I hear!

And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.      Hebrews 10:19-25 (NLT)

Please take this request for accountability to God and see what He says. Look for that extraordinary blessing that God wants to send your way.

Let us pray for Rev. Hinn that his restoration will be God-directed and completed.

Refiner’s Fire written and sung by Brian Doerksen