“So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another” Rom 12:5
One of the most important elements of discipleship is the element of accountability. The principle of accountability can be well established by the very nature of the church described as a body. We, as individual members, are “members of one another”, which suggests connection, dependency and accountability.
We can appreciate the connection, because we all like to be connected and included. It is the longing of the human heart reflecting the image of God to be relationally oriented. We understand that there are sometimes problems with people relating to other people because of past hurt and disappointments in relationships, which manifest itself in fear, mistrust and avoidance of others. But as a community of believers in Christ we are here to bring God’s grace to one another in a way that affirms Christ’s love for us and our love for one another.
We can also appreciate dependency, because we are aware of our own inadequacies. We are grateful for brothers and sisters in Christ who are gifted by God in ways that we are not. This realization helps us to celebrate the strength and contribution that each individual member brings to the whole body.
The principal of accountability is important to our connections with people and with Christ because our default mode is self-centeredness and self-justification. This tends to make us manipulative or withdrawing in relationships in ways that distort our call to minister to one another. This is not only spiritually harmful to others; it is harmful to the person who is in this mode of behavior.
The principal of accountability is also important when it comes to our dependency on one another. We need each other in the body of Christ in the same way that the human body depends upon its individual members. The eye needs the ear and the ear needs the eye. If one part of the body refuses to function as it should the whole body suffers.
Therefore, accountability is the necessary support system we need because we are aware of our tendency to neglect our own soul, and the ministry we are called to provide for others. Unfortunately, the very word accountability tends to be taken in a negative way. It sounds corrective, and it is, but it more than that. It is intended to help people assume the responsibility that is ours as members of Christ’s body. Perhaps the word responsibility is a better way of describing the love and commitment to Christ and one another that should be in our hearts as we serve together. May God grant us a church body of “responsible disciples”.
