Must we all fall down?

We do not fall in a moment; the predisposition to yield to sin has been forming, building, germinating–but not necessarily consciously so. Sin has both a cumulative and a domino effect. Satan plants subtle stimuli, often subliminal ones; he influences an attitude; he wins a “minor” victory–always in preparation for the “big” fall, the iron-clad habit. We read in James 1:14,15 “Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin . . .” It’s the time between “conceiving” and “bringing forth,” that “I just wonder” moment between the temptation and our response, that may be largely subliminal. It’s that moment that makes victors or victims. It’s that moment that proves out what we are made of and what we have been filling our heart with. It’s that moment before we even begin to rationalize that our hearts begin to pour out that with which it overflows be it pride or divine providence it cannot lie it is only a vessel.

Proverbs 16: 18,19   18) Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall. 19) Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, Than to divide the spoil with the proud.

What does it take? How much do we have to go thru before we realize that God desires a true relationship with us in all we do, and it’s a level of accountability in all we do that shows others that this relationship is a priority. When we are willing to take the time to make sure we have someone else in our lives to give us the straight shot about what we are doing without retaliation but with love. That is a level of maturity that can lead others. When we place the proper checks and balances in our life that keep us from temptations, then we are less likely to stumble. The less you stumble, the more time you have to be about the kingdom, instead having to cleaning yourself up every other Sunday. The more that others see your consistent and stable walk, the more they look to you as a leader. When they look to you as leader, the more influence you have and the more accountable they will be with you. Now you have come full circle. You no longer are dependent on another’s spiritual walk to completely guide you but are now a dependable leader. We wait for the fall, we anticipate the fall, we think at some time we have to fall but the truth is all we have to do is be accountable.  Accountability is what builds the foundation and cements the blocks to right relationships, blessed marriages and fruitful ministries.

So why is accountability so difficult? In my honest opinion it all boils down to pride. No one wants anyone looking at them and thinking less of them. We all want to succeed and we all want to feel secure about ourselves. The society we live in sometimes gives a false sense of security in the form of an image. We begin to see things in a false pretense or to say it plainly, we live a lie in front of others. Many begin to think that as long as they appear ok to others then they must be ok. We think that as long as everyone around us doesn’t know we are this way or that way then we’re good. The fact is we all know that just because you don’t see me bleeding doesn’t stop me from bleeding. I’ve even used the excuse that I just didn’t want to be a bother. Mr. John B Lying playing the humble card. It all boils down to ME not wanting you seeing MY junk. I’ve never been happy about being broken but the only way to heal and put the pieces back together is expose those places to the light. Plain view, no questions as to what, when, why or where. Just straight up this is me and I want to be whole again. I know how difficult it can be to trust others with your junk but we have to reach a place where we don’t worry about others but only about being healed. Now that doesn’t mean we place our business on the front page of the local paper. It just means we are willing to take chances and trust God to heal more than we worry about people and how we or they deal with things. There is freedom in all areas of our lives when we learn to confront and expose those things that would normally chip away at our souls bit by bit. Freedom isn’t just the ability to go where we please and do what we please. Freedom is a state of mind. When we are so bound by our thoughts of worry and fear of who we are and what we are that we don’t feel security and peace in our own head, then we are just prisoners in our own bodies. We have a freedom to move but never to live.

So, let’s think about this for minute.  When Jesus sent out the disciples, he sent them out in pairs. Two of them at a time. Why is that? In that day and time in a court of law things were confirmed by at least two witnesses. If two people gave the same statement that a thing went down a certain way then that’s how it happened. They only need two witnesses to convict or set free.  Now that’s a mouth full. One person alone could not bind or set free anyone. One person could not set any law into motion it had to be two. When Jesus sent the disciples, they could have covered twice the ground if they had all went different routes but Jesus knew the power of two. He knew that two witnesses held more accountability than one. WOW!!!! So, what make us think we are any different. It was set in motion as an example of how we should walk and live. By being accountable.  

I want to leave you with this: YOU are not a mistake. YOU are not expected to be superman. YOU are not the only man who deals with what you are going through. YOU are designed by God in His image. There are others who need YOU to be accountable to help them get free from the prison they are in. Find another Godly man to open up with and to pray with about what the two of you struggle with. It will heal you and it will set you free.