What does being accountable mean? Properly defined, the word accountable is (1) - a state of being RESPONSIBLE (performing a duty or being trusted); and (2) - being ANSWERABLE (a moral or legal obligation to be held liable). These terms are not only admirable qualities for us as human beings to possess, but necessary components for the effective functioning of any civilization. Unfortunately, today’s culture is so absorbed with itself, its sense of entitlement and its rage about every conceivable issue, that it will avoid or outright decline being held accountable for anything it does.
When we come and go as we please without any thought of anyone else besides ourselves and our own personal issues, we start a pattern of behavior that disregards the customary and biblical offerings of common courtesy. We begin demanding to be served but at the same time having no desire to serve. This is completely contrary to the example that Jesus left us concerning our relationship with each other. “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10: 45)
News reports and social media platforms commonly display venomous verbal attacks and malicious physical assaults which have become the normal response to minor and even unprovoked incidents. And sadly, those who perpetrate these acts are having their appetites for violence fueled by policies where the imposing of penalties has increasingly and substantially declined, and in some cases even disappeared. The Bible says, “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” (Ecclesiastes 8: 11)
This should be no surprise to anyone as all of this is the expected and inevitable result of no accountability. And wherever you find a population that refuses to be held accountable, you have a society where you will find elevated levels of chaos, conflict, confrontation and crime. The moral fiber of that society becomes frayed and the stain of ungodly behavior mutates, encouraging the flesh to proudly display its selfish, hateful, insensitive and lustful nature. The cancerous effect of this ethical ailment will even reach out and infect the coming generation thereby laying the foundation and erecting the building blocks of self-destruction.
We know that the deterioration of accountability is not only a pandemic in and of itself, but it is demonically detrimental to all aspects of our collective communities whether they be business organizations, academic institutions, neighborhood associations and even our church affiliations.
Twice in the book of Judges it says, “every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” But 14 times in the books of Kings and Chronicles it says that they “did that which was right in the sight of the LORD.” You see, when we become our own authority on what is right and wrong apart from the direction of God, it will cause us to disregard our duty to each other, selfishly satisfying our own individual urges which is bad news for everybody.
It’s not just about being responsible for ourselves, but being responsible for someone else as well. We rely on each one looking after each other in order to be the best we can be. God set it up that way. “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” (Philippians 2: 3-4) And that is because, at its root, true accountability is based in love.
The Bible is full of references, good and bad, related to the principle of being accountable with examples plainly cited indicating that it is just as important in our spiritual life as it is in our natural life, if not more so. One of the first examples of this is found in Genesis, Chapter 4, Verses 1-12 which depicts the story of Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam and Eve, where the elder brother Cain murders his younger brother Abel. When the Lord approaches Cain inquiring into Abel’s whereabouts, Cain immediately tells God a lie by saying, “I know not..." and then answers the question with a question by saying, "Am I my brother's keeper?”
God then answers Cain’s ludicrous question with a powerfully piercing and demanding question of His own, “What hast thou done?” And even though God asked the question, He already knew the answer. And He also knew it was going to happen before it happened. And then, without waiting for a flimsy response, God totally exposes Cain's evil execution of his brother Abel and pronounces judgement on that shameful and cowardly sin. “…the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto Me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand.”
But as God held Cain accountable for his reprehensible behavior, in true fashion of one who doesn’t want to accept any responsibility, Cain couldn’t even admit his wrongdoing but had no problem complaining and whining about the result saying, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.” INCREDIBLE! He wasn’t the least bit concerned about mercilessly slaughtering his brother, but only felt sorry for himself for the discomfort he would have to endure as the consequence of his own unrighteous actions. This all occurred because Cain’s lack of love prevented him from being accountable to his brother and this ultimately led to him committing homicide.
I'll answer Cain's question by saying that he miserably failed at his responsibility to his brother thereby proving that he truly was not his brother’s keeper. But he undoubtedly was his brother’s killer. Now how about us? What lesson can we learn from this that we can apply to our own lives? To start with, we can ask ourselves the same question, “Are we our brother or sister’s keeper, or are we their killer?” We may not have physically ended their life, but have we killed someone’s meekness with our thoughtlessness? Have we executed their enthusiasm with our sarcasm? Have we critically crippled their walk with the Lord with our ridicule? Have we mortally wounded a humble one's spirit with our toxic tongue or aggressive attitude?
No one wants to think that they have negatively impacted someone else but that is why we examine ourselves. We must remain sober and vigilant or we may unintentionally slip into behaviors and attitudes that are not reflective of the God that we serve. Never forget that the Lord is always “…gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.” (Psalm 145: 8) And this is just how we should be. Always.
The freedom He gives us is not to a license to do what we want to do. We have been emancipated from bondage so that we are now able to freely fulfill our spiritual obligations according to God’s Word which says, “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.” (Galatians 5: 13-15)
Of course the story of Cain and Abel is obviously an expose’ on non-accountability and what not to do. Thankfully there are additional stories that describe the type of loving accountability that is derived from a sincere God-given compassion and concern for others. For instance, in Luke 10: 25-37, someone asked Jesus what he needed to do that he might obtain eternal life. Jesus used this occasion to describe the principle of accountability, what this accountability looks like and how important it is.
The story begins where Jesus was being questioned by an ill-intentioned attorney as follows: “And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted Him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Now where have we heard this before? If you will recall, this sounds strikingly similar to the story in Matthew 19: 16-19, Mark 10: 17-19 and Luke 18: 18-20 where the rich young ruler asked Jesus the very same question and was given the very same answer.
So back to the lawyer, “He (Jesus) said unto him (the lawyer), What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he (the lawyer) answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And He (Jesus) said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.”
And again as with the rich young ruler, the penetrating power of Jesus’ divine dialogue caused this corrupt counsellor to scramble for cover in an attempt to avoid accountability. Instead of just humbly accepting Jesus’ heavenly instructions, this lawyer promptly put his foot in his mouth. “But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?” This was just a cheap version of Cain’s infamous statement, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
Nonetheless, it is always a bad idea to try to engage in verbal ju-jitsu with the Creator of all things or think that you’re so smart that your slippery speech qualifies you to go toe-to-toe with the King of kings. This is nothing but lunacy and a design for disaster. Just ask Job about sparring with God. But be that as it may, the truth is that if you can humble yourself and accept the sanctified spanking that you will get, God’s Word will always do you good. Always! You can ask Job about that as well.
Thus saith the scriptures in Hebrews 12: 5-11, “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him: For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye illegitimate, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but He for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”
Again going back to the lawyer, Jesus responded by telling him the story of a man who was travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho who was attacked by a gang of thieves. They robbed him, savagely beat him senseless and then disrespectfully discarded him like a bag of trash leaving him barely alive on the roadside. Now how can you not have sympathy for one who has suffered this type of treatment? How do you not feel the pain of someone who is innocently brutalized in this fashion?
Unfortunately, the world is full of individuals like this lawyer and that gang of thieves who shield themselves from the inconvenience of being accountable, from doing the right thing and purposefully abstaining from their moral responsibility to help those who are in trouble. Jesus then identifies some of those very ones as He continues His story. “And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.”
It is such a shame that people can be so uninterested and insensitive to the plight of others. But it is particularly shameful when those of us who are supposed to be the manifestation of God’s love, grace and glory here on this earth, misrepresent Him in such a callous manner. Well said is the scripture with the warning, “Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour.” (Ecclesiastes 10: 1)
Such were this priest and Levite who should have instinctively provided the help that was needed by this poor soul but instead they emitted a foul, spiritual stench that was offensive to God. Obviously, you can’t judge a book by its cover and scripture confirms this by stating, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” (Matthew 7: 15) We see this when Jesus boldly dressed down a group of self-righteous scribes and Pharisees in a beautiful teaching moment, "...woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! ye are like whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity." (Matthew 23: 27-28) Yes, they may be able to initially hide their intentions, but they can’t hide their produce. The wisdom of God's Word sums it all up by simply saying, “Ye shall know them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7: 16)
Now back to our story. In some cases, God will use the least likely of suspects to accomplish His will. And in this case, He used someone who the Jews detested as His chosen vessel. And this someone was a despised Samaritan. “But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.”
This Samaritan, who we know from the story of the woman at the well, was much maligned by his own countrymen at that time and treated as a second-class citizen. But he overlooked his ill treatment, disregarding the prejudices that were aimed at him and voluntarily took on being responsible for helping one who was unable to help himself. One who more than likely would not have done the same for him in a similar situation. “And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.” He made himself accountable to this unknown person from a culture that would not even acknowledge his presumably, or arguably, Jewish heritage, even sacrificing his own possessions and resources to pay the price for the care that the wounded man required.
Jesus concludes this magnificent teaching on accountability by saying, “Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?” to which the lawyer responded, “He that shewed mercy on him.” Then King Jesus provided the answer to the lawyer’s original question about what he must do to inherit eternal life by saying, “Go, and do thou likewise.” And to meet God's approval, this state can only be achieved by grace through faith.
The lawyer could not evade the overwhelming empirical evidence that his resistance to responsibility only revealed an unconverted heart that was cold and uncaring. Checkmate! The educated attorney didn’t even realize that Jesus had just outmaneuvered him, outflanked him and outsmarted him. Game over.
And as wonderful as this story on accountability is, it pales in comparison to the greatest story ever told where we see the ultimate example of accountability being performed by Jesus Christ when He readily became liable for the sins that we all committed as he hung on a cross beaten, bloodied and battered. He took on a responsibility that was not His but voluntarily paid the high price that we all owed, and that price was death. Because of His great love for us He freely became answerable for what we did, sacrificing His own life that we might be saved from destruction.
This most gracious act was the fulfillment of the scripture which says, “This is My commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15: 12-13) God is love. God sent His love in the form of His Son Jesus to be accountable for us and to be an example of accountability to us. Accountability is of God, therefore accountability is love.
So if we are to follow the example of Jesus, what are we willing to lay down for our friends? Our time? Our money? Our talents? Are we willing to be inconvenienced, suffer loss or risk injury? Would we go the extra mile, take on additional work or be ready to respond at a moment’s notice like 9-1-1 is supposed to? Or will we make ourselves unavailable, feign ignorance, create excuses or defiantly decline? As we have been taught, the entirety of scripture is reduced to 2 powerful principles which are our love for God and our love for each other. “…Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22: 37-40)
When we love and serve one another, we love and serve Jesus our Savior. “Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee an hungred, and fed Thee? or thirsty, and gave Thee drink? When saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee in? or naked, and clothed Thee? Or when saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.” (Matthew 25: 37-40)
Just prior to His crucifixion on Passover, Jesus washed His disciple’s feet and then gave them some wonderful advice saying, “If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.” (John 13: 14-15) He wanted them to understand that He had come to this earth not to be served but to serve, and was prepared to give up His life to liquidate the debt of death that we all owed. He used Himself as the perfect pattern for us to emulate in loving and serving one another in the same manner.
So let us be accountable. Let us be responsible. Let us use what we have for the benefit of others in general and our Brothers and Sisters in Christ in particular. “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” (Galatians 6: 10) Be accountable to serve not only individual members of the body of Christ, but willingly and cheerfully serve your church as a whole in any way you can.
Of course, none of this is meant to suggest that you are liable for someone who is perfectly capable of helping themselves, nor should you be. It is up to each one of us individually to do whatever we can to take care of ourselves so we will be in better position to assist others as needed. As Brother Paul wrote to those in Thessalonica, "For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if a man would not work, neither should he eat." (2 Thessalonians 3: 10) The same sentiment is echoed in Proverbs stating, "The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing." (Proverbs 20: 4)
The examples cited in this message highlight the plight of those who were helpless. The goal of this sermon is to stir you up to be ready to serve the suffering and less fortunate whenever the occasion may arise, particularly those who can't do anything for you in return. And I'm not talking about a half-hearted, sloppy and grudging effort designed to be a man-pleaser, “…but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.” (Ephesians 6: 6) And even if you think you can’t or are unable, be willing to try because God is able to empower you to do things you have no capability to do. You may be incapable of making yourself able, but you certainly can make yourself available.
To conclude I ask the Lord to encourage and inspire you to sincerely desire to be a productive member and servant of His Kingdom, glorifying His holy name by obeying completely, serving sacredly and loving accountably as He Himself has demonstrated and directed.
“Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 1: 17)
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