Daily Devotional for Friday January 11, 2013

Personal Accountability

(Romans 14:12; Matthew 12:36; Luke 12:20; 1 Peter 4:5)

***ASK BILL: Pastor Bill, after a recent disagreement, I was told by my spouse that he could go anywhere he wants, whenever he wants, see whoever he wants, stay as long as he wants, and make any decisions he wants without consulting me. Don't spouses owe each other that type of consideration and communication?

ANSWER: That is not a spouse, it is a dictator, and it is certainly NOT the way God designed marriage. A husband and wife are 100% equal, with different roles to play. Those who want to disregard the Bible point to passages about a wife being obedient. What they fail to mention, is that on the other side, the man is to love his wife as Christ loves the church. MARRIAGE IS A MUTUAL RELATIONSHIP OF LOVE, PATIENCE, UNDERSTANDING, NURTURING, BASED ON A SHARED FAITH IN CHRIST!

One of the biggest problems that we have in our society today is a lack of personal accountability. Nobody is ever wrong, and when they do make mistakes, there is ALWAYS an excuse. The danger that I see in this mindset is that if there is one thing the Bible teaches, if there is one thing that God will demand of each one of us, it is PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY.

I find it comical that in the current exposure of corporate fraud, men like Ken Lay (former CEO of Enron) and Bernie Ebbers (former CEO of World Com) were paid hundreds of millions of dollars to oversee major corporations that they now seem to know little about. What exactly were they paid all of that money for, if they had no idea what was going on? In our criminal justice system, those charged hire gifted criminal lawyers to promote every excuse ever known to man in order to "explain away" the criminal behavior of their client. There are "experts" now that can give you an excuse for anything that you do.

Other great examples of people refusing to be personally accountable are the lawsuits in recent years against the tobacco industry, and now the fast food industry. While there is little doubt that the tobacco industry lied and hid the facts of how addictive cigarettes are, the FACT is, smoking is a PERSONAL CHOICE. Science was by far my worst subject in school. But even as ungifted as I am in that area, common sense told me that putting something in my mouth that was on fire, sucking the smoke into my body, could NOT be a good thing. My mom died almost 4 years ago from emphysema. She smoked since she was 16. She told me that it was HER CHOICE to smoke, and she alone was responsible for the condition that ultimately took her life. As easy as it would have been for her to blame someone else, she took personal responsibility for her addiction to cigarettes. Now people who are obese are suing the fast food chains for making them fat! I have been to many fast food restaurants in my life, and have yet to see someone strapped in a chair, being forced to eat a double bacon cheeseburger, the greasy fries that have been super-sized, and washing it all down with a 4 gallon drum of Coke!

IT IS A PERSONAL CHOICE!

My friend, my point today is to drive home the fact that we can't blame anyone but ourselves for our actions. Blaming others is not new to the human experience. In the Garden of Eden after sinning, Adam blamed his sin on "that woman". But the reality is, God is NOT INTERESTED in your excuses. Trying to blame Eve did not get Adam off the hook for HIS ACTIONS, and making excuses won't get you off the hook for YOUR ACTIONS! Men and women in prison can never overcome that experience until they humble themselves before God and accept personal responsibility for what THEY DID! In our life, we can never get beyond our sins until we are ready to admit them to God, who by the way, when you read 1 John 1:9 is ready to not only forgive you but cleanse you from "all unrighteousness". But YOU must take the first step, and take responsibility for your actions.

I love you and care about you so much. It breaks my heart as I go through many of the emails that we receive here at Liveprayer every day. Many who are looking for God in the midst of their challenges will have a hard time finding Him since they refuse to accept that THEY MADE POOR CHOICES. In most cases, THEY MADE THE DECISIONS, and are now dealing with the consequences.

HEAR THIS SPECIAL WORD FOR YOU TODAY. HEALING, BLESSINGS, AND THE FAVOR OF GOD COMES WHEN WE GO TO HIM, ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR WHAT WE DID WITHOUT BLAMING ANYONE OR ANYTHING ELSE, REPENT, AND RECEIVE HIS GRACE AND MERCY!!!

I will pray for you today. I pray that you will open your heart, be honest with yourself and with God, and quit blaming anyone or anything other than the choices you made. We all make bad choices and bad decisions in our life. The key for you today is not try to find excuses, not try to find someone else to blame, but simply take responsibility for what you have done. It is impossible to move past your problems until you do this. This is so important because to accept Christ by faith, we must take personal responsibility for our sins and ask Him to forgive us. We must be personally accountable to HIM for our sins. When this brief life is over, when we stand before God, He is not going to be interested in any excuses. On that day, God will hold each of us personally responsible for our life. I pray today that you stop looking for ways to excuse your choices and your actions, but accept responsibility for what YOU have done. God will honor you for taking personal responsibility for your actions.

In His love and service,

Your friend and brother in Christ,

Bill Keller