Accountability

James 5:16 (NLT)
16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

James, the half-brother of Jesus, writes we should be willing to confess our sins. We should also confess sins to those who we are close to so that they might pray with us to overcome those sins. James tells us that confession to a righteous person who prays for us will have great power within our lives and produce wonderful results.

Accountability is an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions. With accountability we are willing to disclose issues that affect us or others. We are willing to let someone look into our lives and see whatever problems may exist and guide us in correcting those issues. Many self-help groups, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, take accountability serious. They tell the individual they need to seek out the forgiveness of those they have hurt, make themselves accountable, and make amends where possible with those they have hurt. This is where talking with someone is important and why AA includes a sponsor as a part of their program. The sponsor gives the individual someone safe they can trust to listen to their problems and help guide them in their recovery efforts. As Christians we need close, safe, and righteous friends we can discuss our sins with. We need to let these friends hold us accountable for our actions and pray with us when we fail. God is quick to forgive when someone confesses their sin so it is important to not hold back. We don’t always need to confess our sin to a person, but when we have hurt others we do and need the help and guidance from those who are safe, close and righteous friends.