APPRECIATE ACCOUNTABILITY
A dear son in faith mentioned that as he was coming to see me that day, some thoughts were running through his mind. One of it was, “See how your wife wants to disgrace you. Why did she call to inform Dad of what you were struggling with”.
His response to that thought made me proud but much more was the beginning of his walk out of strange habits into freedom. He said that he responded, “I am going to a place of accountability and strength. I am not going to a place of shame. I am going to the place of correction and growth. I am not going to the place of shame”. Today, he has become better at walking with God and his family.
If the devil succeeds in telling you that accountability is a shameful thing, he will succeed in having and holding you in his grip.
There are two simple yet potent things that the devil uses as a tool to keep men in the same spot. These two are his prison wardens. They ensure you do not leave the cell of addictions and sin.
The first one is Pride! Pride is the first that the devil deploys. It can be manifest as a sense of personal pride or at times as ego.
Think about Naaman who had been battling with leprosy for almost a lifetime. His response to Elisha’s instruction was laced with arrogance. Why? The enemy wants to keep him as a leper.
II Kings 5:10-11 NKJV
And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” [11] But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’
He needed help. He got angry. He walked away. He had expectations of how “Great General Naaman” should be treated. Elisha’s approach unsettled him.
When Pride had finished venting, Shame, the co-pilot, took over the wheels.
II Kings 5:12 NKJV
Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So, he turned and went away in a rage.
I have seen men who are struggling to live a decent life or who are under the stronghold of disgraceful habits walk away from accountability because of pride and shame. Some even go back to fight anyone who reported their indiscretions and shameful conduct. They are still held bound in sexual sins, but they want to be treated with kid’s gloves. What a deceit.
Thank God that Naaman listened to the voice of caution eventually:
II Kings 5:13-14 NKJV
And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash and be clean’?” [14] So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
He was not just cured of leprosy; he was also delivered from pride.
Cut off that arrogance. You need help. If you do not know, be humble. Pride does not lift men. Pride destroys men.
May the critical voices in your life not partner with you in silence to destroy your future. Even if it is your spouse, may they not cover up your sin. May their voices be loud until you are free. Stop harassing the voices that expose your vices or terrible habits. Thank them instead. They are helpers of destiny.
temilOluwa Ola, Eruwa