Accountability in Love

Recently I've started to train in karate.  I've started because I am sick of seeing those before and after pictures of myself.  You may know the ones I'm talking about: those pictures from the past that showed muscles and strength.  Then looking in the mirror and seeing that today, you are nothing like you were back then.

The past few years, I've always said I need to do something, but I made excuses not to.  I'm the type of person who has a hard time exercising by myself.  I need motivation from someone.  That's where the karate comes in.  People hold me accountable.

By being in karate, there is certain sense of brotherhood amongst those who train.  I see people hanging out with one another, families having dinner with one another, people supporting others in need, and so much more.

So this got me thinking....in karate, there is a master, or “sensei,” who will encourage you to train a certain way to learn both mentally and physically.  They will push you to find your limits.  Then they will push you some more.  You get support from them and encouragement from the fellow students.  But this isn't it.  We are held accountable for many different things.  A higher rank is accountable to ensure they teach the lower ranks of some of the unwritten rules, such as the lowest rank takes care of the menial duties in the dojo.

I'm telling you all of this because Christ has this same plan for us.  He wants us to encourage others.  I think we do a pretty good job encouraging other Christians.  We love our fellowship time as well.  But the part I see we have trouble, as Christians, is the accountability. 

Why is it that when I go to karate, if I didn't do something properly, even though I know how to do it, the master will make me do pushups?  It's because he is trying to hold me accountable to what he knows I already know.  I don't get upset.  I do my pushups because I know I messed up.

We are told in 2 Timothy 4:2 (NKJV), "Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching."

 We are not told to just stay on everyone's good side.  We are told to preach the Word, correct, rebuke, and encourage.  To do this, we need a brotherhood, and not just a fellowship.  We just can't do it on our own.  All too often we fall in our Christian walk when we do, just like when I kept saying I will work out for all those years, and the only thing I worked out was seeing how much ice cream I can fit into my belly.

I ask you, do you just hang out with your Christian friends or do you help them?  Do you help them by preaching God's Word? Correcting them when they mess up?  Say, "No" when they ask you to do something outside of God's Word?  And encourage them when they are doing good or not so good?

We as Christians should be building those brotherhoods.  So I challenge you today to pray for that direction to build that brotherhood.  Be tight with one another.  Surround yourself in the brotherhood and also surround your brothers.

Nick Manzie