Accountability is a big deal. It’s nearly impossible to overstate its value in our lives. But nobody said it was easy.
In fact, just the opposite – in the book Open, while the benefits are certainly highlighted, the difficulties surrounding accountability are far from sugar-coated:
“Accountability is not easy, and it doesn’t come naturally. But in the long run it’s incredibly necessary, and when you do it right, it’s nothing but good.”
Undoubtedly, one of the greatest roadblocks to getting accountable is the level of commitment involved. It requires a significant investment of effort and a significant investment of your time. And time is something we could all use a little more of, right?
Accountability doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time. It takes time both to develop it and to walk it out on a weekly basis.
But the bottom line is that it is worth it.
In the book, Craig reflects often on some very practical issues regarding the process he’s walked through with his own accountability group. One of these issues was that of time:
“Our schedules were already demanding—why would we include yet another demand on our time and finite resources? Fortunately, these concerns were trumped when we also realized that, by holding one another accountable and going deep, we would be making the rest of our time more effective.”
We all have the same amount of time in each day, and we all will make decisions each day to invest our time in the things we deem as priorities. With that in mind, the question looms: “Do we consider accountability a priority?”
We all spend plenty of time on pointless endeavors (porn being one of them – a huge time thief – and one that will steal much more than just your time!). Why not invest some time in something that will benefit your life as a whole in countless ways?
If you’ve been waffling back and forth on whether you have the time for accountability, let me encourage you by saying that none of us can afford to not invest our time in accountability.
Invest some time in getting open today. And invest some time in walking it out and allowing it to get deep into your life and change you from the inside out.
Being open takes time, but it is unquestionably worth every bit of it.
Check out the Open book here. Praying we will all have the courage to live open – starting today.
The time has come for each of us to become accountable. To experience the freedom, peace of mind, and overwhelming self-confidence that come from living a life free of secrets and lies. In every area of our lives, it’s time to go beyond self-help . . . it’s time to get accountable. It’s time to live Open..