Accountablity

Not too long ago, while getting ready to go to church, I was watching Dr. Charles Stanley early on a Sunday morning.  The center of his teaching that day was on the subject of accountability and what that meant to us spiritually and biblically.  Dr. Stanley explained all of the what-fors and where-evers and I found it to be interesting in a conservative Christian sort of way.  I don't believe, however, that he ever explained the fact that the actual word 'accountable' is not in the Bible.

Dr. Stanley explained that every one of us is accountable to someone and ultimately, of course, to God.  He described how children are accountable to their parents and teachers, employees to the supervisors, supervisors to the boss, the boss to the board, and the board to the stockholders, and then the government who in turn is suppose to be accountable to the people and ultimately the people to God.  Husband are accountable to wives and wives to husbands, friends to friends, and so on.

In the Bible, we find that the overall understanding of being accountable for your actions comes under several other words.  Each of the words that has the 'accountable' connotation has a sliver of a difference from the next.  Some of the words used to denote an immediate or eventual accountability are: respect, honor, responsible, atonement, judgement, and others.  These words ultimately lead back to the human-ness of being accountable.

We show respect for ourselves and others, and all that that encompasses, because we know that we are ultimately accountable for our thoughts and actions.  We each choose whether to be respectful in our thoughts and actions, although we can be guilty of a spontaneous word that we regret. 

The word 'honor' is a really big one and one that is harder to grasp for most of us.  It denotes a presence of respect that holds a special noble grace.  We honor our parents by being respectful, but there's so much more to it than just that.  We honor our fallen heroes by showing our gratitude and respect, but, once again, it goes beyond that to something more primitive, more earthy.  When we honor someone or something we set apart from the everyday humdrum and know that there are certain thoughts and actions that we can make that takes away that special respect, we show our accountability.

Not being accountable leads to the atonement and judgement, of being answerable to someone or something.  Even the most remote spot on earth with one single person living there in a hut and surviving off the land is answerable to his surroundings, the flora and fauna, and to God where he is a believer or not. Ultimately, no one can go through their time on earth and not be answerable to something somewhere.