Greetings, RBC! I hope this Friday finds everyone well.
Last week, I talked about your irreplaceable role in the body of Christ. Today, I am going to talk about accountability. Let's dive in.
I think one reason people stop coming to church is because they see hypocrisy. When a speaker makes lifechoices that are inconsistent with his/her teachings, for example. Obviously, we cannot control this, but what we can do is question and hold them accountable.
Likewise, with your brothers and sisters in the church, if they are not making choices that would glorify the One, they should be spoken to in love. Again I say, IN LOVE. This is not a suggestion to publicly call out a preacher if you disagree, or to beat your friend with the New Testament. Instead, it is to bring the situation to their attention out of a desire that they lead the best life they can.
Now, this does not simply apply to your friends. What about you? Do you know in your heart there is something you need to be held accountable for? If so, don’t hide it away! So often, we’re terrified to be judged and rebuked and embarrassed because we don’t have it all together. Let’s just bury those thoughts by saying, "NO ONE DOES." Sure it’s extremely hard to tell people, “I have a problem,” or, “Hey I did this,” but when you do, what more do you have to lose?
My first year in Egypt was definitely challenging. Long story short, I made some decisions that contradicted all I stood for, believed in and talked so passionately about. While it made me sick inside knowing it had happened, what made me sicker was that my witness was tainted. However, not a soul in the world would talk to me about it. So, at youth group a few nights later, with guts I didn’t know I had, I asked if I could borrow the microphone for a minute after our Youth Pastor was finished. I walked up in front of everyone and told them, “I need you.” I told them what I knew they knew and that I was sorry. I told them the last thing I wanted was to be thought of as a hypocrite and that I was genuine in what I said when they first met me, and I truly desired to serve the Lord but was struggling and hoped that my witness was not tainted.
Shocked faces were followed by welcoming arms when I was finished. There is something so foreign about raw honesty. What would it look like if we never let things go unsaid, and we looked out for others in love? Could people ever accuse the church of hypocrisy if we admitted our struggles and let the world know we don’t expect perfection -- from ourselves or others?
What do you have to lose? Look at the people you love and hold each other accountable. God has an abundant life for us and things are not worth holding onto when they get in the way of that.
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