Accountability: Part V

Yesterday we talked about starting with one believer and then building a team of advisors to keep you accountable. It is not just for yourself, or for the benefit of others who have the opportunity to guide you along your path. The one person that you are truly accountable to is Almighty God.

Matthew 12:36 says, "But I tell you that everyone will have to give an account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken."

Paul acknowledges this and similarly echoes this verse in Romans 14:12 which reads, "So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God."

As a writer and as a person, I put a strong value on spoken words. I still like to write letters. And whether you are writing or speaking, it is not only what words that are spoken, but also what is heard through the ears and in the minds of others. Words are powerful; to say the least.

Think about a person you admire. Are they eloquent with respect to the words they choose?

Let's take this theme on step further. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 4:2, "Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful."

As someone who is being spoken to, it is imperative in valuing the words spoken to us, that we can believe and have faith in their validity. We want to believe that the advice we are getting is inherently good. And if we are to be better off having received such advice, it requires faith and trust in the advice given.

Look in the book of Luke for some sound advice. Luke 12:48 says, "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."

Just prior to that as Jesus is talking to His disciples, in Luke 12:2-3 he records, "There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs."

Having grown up in a small town, these two verses carry a lot of weight, and ring true, so to speak.
My mother and father knew what I had done and what I had said before I ever returned home. They also held me accountable.

To me, the spoken word is directly in line with the parable of the harvest; "you will reap what you sow." As leaders, you will have the opportunity to be heard in the assembled group of your peers. Words are not only to elevate you, but others as well. Counsel in private, and praise in public.

What can you say to others today that will affirm, and add value to others, whether it be one or many?