What Does God Say About Discipleship?Sample

Day 7

Stay Accountable

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up. Also, if two lie down together, they can keep warm; but how can one person alone keep warm? And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.

One time, I got pulled over for speeding. And full disclosure, I was speeding. After I received my ticket, the officer told me that I needed to go to court if I wanted to have it removed from my record—but I would have to plead guilty and attend a four-hour traffic school on a Saturday morning. 

When I got to court, I found myself in a room full of people, none of whom were talking to each other; we were all just sitting and waiting. Suddenly, a court attendant announced for us to rise, and when we did, the judge sat behind the bench. He called us up in groups of ten, where we lined up single-file to approach the microphone. 

My heart was racing. I was thinking to myself how ashamed I was to have to say into the microphone that I was guilty, even though I truly was. When it was my turn, the judge read my name and what I was cited for and asked a simple question: “Guilty or not guilty?” Sheepishly, with a heavy heart, I replied, “guilty, your honor.” 

Not everyone will have to stand before a judge in a courtroom, but each of us will stand before God and have to answer for our guilt. But this guilt is deeper than a speeding ticket, and the sentence is heavier than a four-hour traffic school. Thinking about my experience in court, and then magnifying it a million times to think my guilt because of sin, makes me indescribably grateful for Jesus wiping my record clean and paying my debt for me! 

Having a group of women around me helps me keep myself in check because we do something that is absolutely crucial for believers: we hold each other accountable. We ask each other tough questions about sin, about our attitudes, about the way we treat our husbands and our children and our friends. We do not do it to shame one another, but to build each other up. To keep us between the rails. To make sure we have our hands on the wheel and are going the speed limit, so to speak. 

Solomon, in Ecclesiastes, knew very well that having people around you to ask you tough questions was extremely healthy. Accountability might not always be fun, but it’s a built-in system in a discipleship group designed to keep us safe. It keeps us honest and on track. 

As you pour your life into other ladies, take every opportunity you can to be honest and to encourage them to do the same. Together you’re stronger than you are alone, and it feels better than you could imagine to know that there are people in your corner who have your back and who want to see you be the woman of God He desires us to be!