For Patrick Morley, “Accountability is to be regularly answerable for each of the key areas of our lives to qualified people.”
According to Charles Swindoll, “Accountability is giving one or more trusted persons the permission to ask you the hard questions.”
Seeking someone to hold you accountable for growth and holiness requires humility and transparency. And it indicates that you see the danger in too much privacy. Here are questions I gave to my accountability partner, who poses them a couple times a month.
- Did you maintain a regular “quiet time” with the Lord during which you cultivated intimacy through prayer and Bible reading?
- Did you say or do anything since we last talked that constituted a breach of integrity?
- Did you spend adequate time investing in key relationships: spouse, children, close friends?
- Has your use of time recently been characterized by diligence and loyalty to work or ministry responsibilities?
- Did you take care of yourself physically through sound eating habits, exercise, and rest?
- Did you say, write, or do anything in relation to a member of the opposite sex that you wouldn’t want your spouse to know?
- Have you made yourself more vulnerable to sexual temptation by what you’ve watched, read, or by letting your eyes linger for too long on someone other than your spouse?
- Did you speak negatively to someone about a third party who wasn’t present? (This excludes a work or ministry venue when frank discussions of other people are sometimes necessary.)
- In your speech or thought, have you detected an unforgiving spirit or root of bitterness toward someone who has hurt you?
- Have you lied in response to any of the previous questions?
In response to any questions, did you sense the Holy Spirit’s conviction? If so, what must you do to make things right?
What questions would you add to this list?
I found these questions to be very helpful. They helped encourage me to continue to give up some of my personal desires and give God more time in study, prayer and meditation. I recently stopped watching as much TV and movies. I thought I was ok but I was feeling a little stifled. However, it’s been a blessing getting more into the word. Your questions really make you think about your actions and the time in which we spend doing some of the things we think are just fun to do. So I think I’ll continue !