Accountability vs. Responsibility
Maybe you've heard it said:
"Forgive your enemies but never forget their names"
Jesus taught:
"I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:36-38)
Romans 14:12
"So then each of us will give an account of himself to God."
They're not the same thing. Responsibility is task-focused, relating to a person's role in completing the task. Accountability is results-focused, relating to how a person reacts to, or owns up to the results of their response to the task. You can assume responsibility, but accountability requires a personal choice and action. And accountability is different because it's somewhat time sensitive. How and when one responds (takes accountability) determines the individual's integrity.
God will search the heart and test the mind of everyone, and each will receive what is due them. And there's accountability and there's responsibility. Whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for them it is sin (James 4:17). It's all about integrity and honesty in one's choices. This Godly judgement is about our judgment.
Think about how God sees things. Think about it from the perspective of the Lord's Prayer example..."forgive me of my sins, as I have forgiven them who have sinned against me". This goes to the mindset of the individual. To their motives and intent. It's about clearly seeing your neighbors sin by first removing the sin from your own eyes.
"You will give account for every careless word you speak" - Jesus
Holy Shhh 🤫 t.
I am not looking forward to that recounting. I'm lost already. Reject me I'm done. But I have one thing going for me...accountability. I have owned my insincerity. I have rejected Satan and turned away from my unrestrained self, and now I have faith. I have faith in the advocate the Father sent, his Son Jesus Christ the righteous.
And so I must not harbor hatred for anyone, I must offer forgiveness...I must not return evil for evil. If I do? I'm not in Him.
1John 2:9-11
"Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes."
There's no escaping responsibility if we aren't holding ourselves accountable for our thoughts and words. Whoever keeps the word of Christ Jesus is perfected by God, by the love of God. We know we're perfected when we walk as he walked. And when we talk as he talked. In short, we're accountable to how we walked the walk and talked the talk.
Therefore:
Do not love and hate like the world.
Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you, love God and love one another, yes...and your enemies as well.
Have confidence in his word, and do not shrink from him in shameless acts of violence or terror.
Take responsibility for your mistakes.
Confess your weaknesses.
And know that he (Jesus) is righteous, so that you may understand that everyone who practices righteousness in him has been born of him.
In this way you have accepted responsibility on a personal level and also accepted accountability through Jesus Christ and his perfection.
Hope beyond accountability. Hope beyond the grave. Untruth dies. Hatred dies. Hopelessness dies. You don't die, you don't cease to exist, only your sin does.
"Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another."
"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."
(Ephesians 4:25,32)
Reality Check:
If you've made it this far, I think I know what you might be thinking. 🤔
"Sorry Mike, I'm not convinced"
"This stuff that's going on now is beyond tolerable"
"Someone needs to be held accountable NOW!"
I agree.
But I know that God is already doing that. I know he's got the list and he's checking it twice. I know he's going to get the justice that needs to be gotten. And I'm good to go with that level of justice. I don't need justice on top of justice. That's just us, (not justice but "just.us" ). It's retribution really. And we have no godly right to take retribution.
Our only God-given right is to give forgiveness. God gives us that right, if we are in him, accountable to him, taking responsibility in him.
Jesus said:
"If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."
(John 20:23)
We are obligated to share the gospel message of forgiveness, not the gospel of unforgiveness. We are obligated to tell people the only way to be forgiven is through faith, not the way of retribution. We stand in His grace, and He expects us to keep our hearts pure, and minds clear toward others. Not holding grudges, not harboring a spirit of unforgiveness. We must own our own thoughts and actions in our unforgiveness.
Jesus said those who have been forgiven much, love much (Luke 7:47). I live and breathe by this scripture. Because of this scripture I was saved. And every time I sense an angry and hateful spirit building up inside me, I remember this scripture. I see the darkness in my own eye and I am reminded how wonderful my Lord is in his forgiveness. I push down that demonic spirit influencer and I thank God for his forgiveness of my sins. Sometimes I have to do this multiple times a day. The wicked spirits are relentless and know what buttons to push. And I know that when I'm praying, but still hold something against anyone, I must forgive that person so my relationship with God is right and righteous! I take accountability for my wicked thoughts. Taking responsibility for our unforgiveness, and trying our level best to be forgiving is one of the keys to showing God we indeed have eternal life living inside us.
Brothers and sisters, at the end of the day keep this word close to your heart and foremost in your thoughts...
1John 3:14 "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death."
...your eternal life may count on it at the accounting.