Accountability

Scripture: And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. (I Thessalonians 5:14-15)

I consider myself to be pretty free spirited compared to many of my peers. Single, never been married, no children, no longer date - I'm unfettered by many responsibilities common to women in their 40s as I am.

For many years I came and went as I pleased, I'd go to movies alone, I'd visit friends all over town, I even traveled to Sacramento to visit a friend over a weekend and was not compelled to share anything with anyone. I led a very content and solitary life

But then I made a friend who, out of concern for my safety, (and her own curiosity, though I doubt she would admit that *grin*) would ask me, "Where are you going? When will you be back?"

I bristled at what at first felt like an intrusion of my private and personal life. And to this day, there are times I still fight such negative emotions. But through this one friend, who is much more social than I am, I was able to make connections with former "acquaintances" in my life - people who would make small talk with me as I would rush out of church after service - people I had passed in the halls or bumped into at church meetings for literally YEARS - but due to my social anxiety, I was unable to stop and cultivate any real conversations with any of them.

What does my story have to do with the above scripture, you might be asking. Well, both show a picture of accountability. By being aloof and socially disconnected for so long, I wasn't really accountable to anyone. I was very close to being a "lone ranger" Christian as I wrote about in an earlier blog. I belonged to a church where I was fed and grew, but I didn't share anything of my personal life with anyone but maybe one or two friends, and infrequently at that.

By not being accountable to anyone, neither could I make anyone else accountable in their lives. One can't warn, encourage or guide others without some kind of relationship. And by the same token, I was missing out on all the warnings, encouragement and guidance from others by being so anti-social.

We can do so much more together than one can do all alone. Praise God!

So Jesus used by best friend, who eventually pulled me out of my shell (kicking and screaming, mind you! *grin*) and now I Have a whole group of friends who know where I am and what I'm doing - but it's out of love that they want to know - and I appreciate that so much!

Prayer request: To become more bold in helping other brothers and sisters in the faith to walk the walk, and to accept the same kind of guidance from others.

Prayer: Lord, we are in constant need of correction and encouragement in our Christian walks. Help us not to be silent when one needs a word of warning or praise. Help us to demonstrate who You are in our daily lives by being patient, kind and helpful to those around us, just as You are with us.