3 Reasons Accountability Works

It really blew my mind the other day as I sat in my living room in a small village outside of Zagreb, Croatia chatting with my friend in India. Later that day I had a short conversation with another friend on the East Coast of the United States and that evening with my grandma on the West Coast. 

Our world is more connected than ever before in the history of mankind. All it takes is a good Internet connection, a camera and Skype or Google and you can speak face-to-face with anyone at any time anywhere in the world. 

And yet studies show that people suffer with depression and loneliness in immense proportions. 

It is puzzling at first glance how our society is so readily connected with so many social media platforms that give us instant access to hundreds of people and yet we are so lonely and depressed. However, when we probe deeper we realize that this is a false sense of connection.

We can easily hide behind a screen, set our status to “unavailable”, ignore the texts and IMs, erase a ranting status, or tweet and run. It requires little investment or accountability; whereas literal face-to-face interactive relationship removes those barriers. There are no “outs”. There is no hiding, erasing, ignoring or running. One must own up to his words and submit to the accountability it requires.

3 Reasons Why Accountability Works

1. It forces us to be honest with friends. Accountability requires honesty. Deep down, gritty honesty. True friends will ask the hard questions and require answers. They force us to examine places in our lives that we would like to sweep over, shut away, or ignore. However, this honesty helps us to grow. When others are content to allow us to remain immature in certain areas of our lives, our accountability partners push us to grow and mature, to be better than we are today!
   
   
2. It allows us to address our blind spots. We all have them. We probably don’t know what they are; that’s why they’re called blind spots. But other people know what they are, and they really wish we’d resolve them! This is the beauty of true, accountable friendships. They lovingly point out to us what we fail to see, so we can grow, change, and be more like Christ.
   
   
3. It keeps us attached to the body. We no longer live in a society that revolves around church and church family. It is very easy to allow church to become another item on our to-do list and our church family to become a group of acquaintances. This is a great danger to us, because God designed the institution of church and its family structure to be an extension of Christ Himself; to be that element that strengthens us as we live our lives in a world so opposite from those around us. We need our church and church family so much more than we realize!

As women, we thrive on intimacy and we need to invest in those God has placed in our lives. If you haven’t allowed your close relationships to deepen to this level of authenticity and accountability, ask the Lord today to show you how you begin investing more in those relationships He has given you. 

Want to read more about accountability?
A Glimpse of my Accountability 
4 Keys to a Successful Accountability Group

About Rosilind

Rosilind is an American girl married to a Bosnian guy who lives in a small village just outside of Zagreb. They have two crazy boys 3 and under who are as opposite as boys can be. When Rosilind isn't writing, she is dreaming up recipes and searching for ways to organize her home better. You can find her at A Little R & R where she writes about missions, marriage and family, toddler activities, and her recipes. You will also find her onFacebook, Twitter and Pinterest. 

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