UNDERSTANDING ACCOUNTABILITY: A PATHWAY TO OBEDIENCE AND SPIRITUAL GROWTH

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📖 “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account…” — Hebrews 13:17 (KJV)

🔹 Accountability Is a Choice, Not a Chore

Many still misunderstand what accountability truly is. Accountability is not about control. It is not punishment. It is not done for the benefit of the person you report to—it is for you.

When you choose accountability, you are choosing humility. You are saying, “I want to get it right. I don’t want to assume. I want to make progress.”

Just like a disciple sits to learn, the accountable heart positions itself to grow.

📖 “He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.” — Proverbs 15:32 (KJV)

🔹 Accountability Gives Access to What You Lack

God has structured the Body so that what you lack is in someone else, and what they lack may be in you. Accountability opens the door for divine supply through spiritual oversight and correction.

📖 “From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth…” — Ephesians 4:16 (KJV)

When you withhold accountability, you cut yourself off from the joint that supplies wisdom, counsel, clarity, and rebuke. That isolation is costly.

🔹 Accountability Makes You Safe

The absence of accountability leads to uncorrected error. Every true servant of God has someone they are answerable to—God first, but also human vessels He has placed in their lives.

📖 “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.” — Proverbs 11:14 (KJV)

To be accountable is to say:

• “If I’m wrong, please correct me.”

• “If I don’t understand, I will ask.”

• “If I’m unsure, I will not pretend—I’ll seek clarity.”

It’s not weakness to ask questions. It is humility. It is strength under guidance.

🔹 Accountability Cannot Be Forced

No one can force you to be accountable. It is a voluntary covenant of obedience and honor. If it is forced, it is no longer spiritual. If it is pretended, it will not profit.

📖 “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land.” — Isaiah 1:19 (KJV)

But if a man chooses disobedience—even if he hides it—God is not mocked.

Mercy may delay judgment, but disobedience eventually meets consequence. Time runs out on some. That is why accountability is God’s mercy in motion—it helps you get it right before it goes wrong.

🔹 Final Charge: Accountability Is the Way to Keep Getting Better

God desires that we grow from faith to faith and glory to glory. He places checks and balances in our lives—not to hinder us, but to strengthen us.

The goal of accountability is not perfection, but progress. Every great man in the Bible had someone who could speak into their lives—Moses had Jethro, Paul had Ananias and later the Apostles, Timothy had Paul. Even Jesus submitted to John the Baptist to fulfill all righteousness.

If the Son of God could model submission, how dare we resist correction?

🙏🏽 Prayer

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for the gift of accountability. Deliver us from pride that resists counsel and correction. Plant in us the spirit of meekness to receive instruction and the courage to ask when we do not understand.

Surround us with those who watch over our souls and help us honor them.

Let us not perish for lack of instruction or drift because of isolation.

We yield ourselves afresh to divine guidance. May we keep getting it right—and keep getting better.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

The Message Bearer, Cornelius Bella