Who Has Your Six?
Most of us know the story of David's fall with Bathsheba, but we often overlook a particularly important piece in this story—Nathan. If you're not familiar with this story, I highly encourage you to read the passage in 2 Samuel 11-12.
I want to encourage you and challenge you to ask yourself who has your six?
We live in a world where we constantly battle with the evil around us, but even more, we never rest from the confrontation of the battle of evil within – our flesh. So, who are you taking with you to battle? Who has your back in the day-to-day fight against sin?
I am a huge advocate of accountability—a term often referenced in the church, and for good reason, too. If David didn't have Nathan, where would David be and in what state would his kingdom be in without a king in good standing with the Lord?
Maybe you're a leader in your church. Maybe you're a volunteer, or maybe you're not involved in any ministry and are new to the faith. Whatever your status may be, one thing is for sure, you need accountability—people in your life you can trust to walk with you in your struggles and encourage you or rebuke you with love when it calls for it, as Nathan did for David.
Accountability has saved me numerous times from losing my own personal battles, and I can't emphasize enough how much it grew my character as a person, but most of all a believer. Here are a few things accountability has done for me.
It keeps your heart in check
I hear too often, "Follow your heart." The irony of that statement is that following your heart is actually misleading because our hearts are deceptive (Jeremiah 17:9).
We want what the heart wants, but most times if not all, what the heart wants is not what God wants.
Having accountability creates space for a heart check that we can't do ourselves. Just how we can't physically see the condition of our heart without the help of a chest x-ray and a doctor to translate, the same goes for the spiritual condition of our heart.
It keeps you on the right path
Had Nathan stayed quiet when the Lord sent him to David, David would never have confessed his sin and come to the Lord asking for forgiveness. Who knows, but David could have kept on sinning in secret, but because of Nathan's rebuke, his wrongdoing was brought to light and in his own willingness to come before the Lord in repentance God brought upon him mercy and redemption.
When you have accountability, you have a guard around your heart and the path to which God has called you to walk.
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Accountability is a key part of running the race well. Without it, we'd all be wandering aimlessly into traps and ditches, finding ourselves deep in the trenches.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when having accountability.
Mutual vs mentorship
There are generally two types of levels of accountability: mutual and mentorship.
Mutual accountability means finding someone who is at the same level of your spiritual maturity in which you can go through the growing pains of spiritual aging. You can vent about struggles together, pray together and encourage each other.
Mentorship accountability means finding someone at a deeper level of spiritual maturity than you who you can glean wisdom from. Maybe this is your Bible study group leader or your pastor or someone who has been a spiritual father/mother/older brother or sister to you.
I also encourage you, if God leads you to, to be a mentor to someone who seeks mentorship in an area you've been developed in. Being a mentor teaches you just as much as being mentored. So, if someone approaches you about being their mentor, pray about it!
Define the Accountability
Here is a checklist of things you should keep in mind when finding accountability:
Find someone of the same gender
There is a fine line that can easily be crossed if you find accountability with the opposite sex. On top of that, there's only so much a guy can relate to a girl with when it comes to struggles each gender faces. The only appropriate time, I believe, to have accountability with the opposite sex is within the covenant of marriage with your husband/wife.
Define what kind of accountability you're looking for
Are you looking for general accountability to make sure your walk with the Lord is straight? Or are you looking for specific accountability in specific areas of your life (e.g. relationship, career, finances, ministry)?
Define your goals for accountability
Are you looking for godly counsel, a watchman for a particular area of weakness, someone to grow spiritually with (again with the same gender)?
Most importantly, pray for accountability. Don't just go to someone because they're conveniently there. Go to someone you trust, someone who knows you, someone who will call you out and tell you what you need to hear not want.
Accountability is key to finishing this race well, and if there's one thing I hope this blog can do for you today it's to encourage you to get to the finish line in a successful, God-honoring fashion.
I have my six covered. Do you?