3 Benefits of Accountability

Cornhole is a fun game. It’s one of those games where you often don’t think about the official rules. On days you don’t want big challenges, or when one of the players needs a little help, you might place the boards a little closer together than regulation. Or you might choose to play a version where you have to score 21 on the nose to win. If you go past 21, you have to go back to a lower score. This tends to help the other team catch up and extends game time.

To me, games like cornhole, unless being played in a tournament, should allow modification so that everyone participating has fun.

But what about our Christian life? Should we modify Christ’s expectations on days we don’t feel up to the challenge? What about when we want to have fun outside the boundaries of His Word? Like cornhole, what’s the harm in making it easier so we can all participate in our own way?

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I chuckled at a saying I saw on the American Cornhole Association website.

“Friends don’t let friends (opponents) break the rules.”

That sentence struck me as applicable to our Christian walk.

For Christians, friends who don’t let friends break the rules are often called accountability partners. More than a bonus or a “like to have”, accountability partners are necessary. Having someone you trust with knowledge of your needs, wants, concerns, and desires helps in many ways.

We could list many benefits of accountability partners, but I want to focus on three.

Accountability partners sharpen us. (Proverbs 27:17)¹ When someone is allowed inside our lives, they are able to help us shave away the rough edges. Based on their knowledge they can provide the friction we need to overcome our sinful tendencies and live a more Christ-like life.
Accountability partners heal us through their prayers. (James 5:16)² Sharing our concerns with another gives them information they need to pray specifically for us. Those prayers are powerful.
Accountability partners encourage us. (Hebrews 10:24-25)³ If we find ourselves discouraged for reasons we don’t want the world to know, an accountability partner can help us with words of encouragement, wisdom, or even correction. We need words in each of those areas more often than we’d like to admit.

Do you have an accountability partner? What tips would you share with the rest of us on benefits of an accountability partner?

Today’s feature photo comes from a “photo-a-day” challenge I pursued several years ago. The photo inspires the topic. For me, the posts challenge my creativity, writing discipline, and dependence on God for His message. My prayer is that you find hope in God’s Word, and that you’ll share your hope with others.

¹“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17, NASB)

²“Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. A prayer of a righteous person, when it is brought about, can accomplish much.” (James 5:16, NASB)

³“and let’s consider how to encourage one another in love and good deeds, not abandoning our own meeting together, as is the habit of some people, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:24-25, NASB)