Accountability can be defined as the willingness to accept responsibility for one’s actions.

For a life to THRIVE IN GODS PURPOSE, it begins with a level of awareness about God’s expectations for us and where we are on that journey as we grow.

Acknowledging where we are lacking and striving to make things right is an important part of growth and that is an important part of accountability.

When we are accountable we understand and accept the consequences of our own actions or inactions.

When we think of accountability we often think about in terms of the other people in our lives who will ensure we do what we have promised to do. But true accountability begins with us - it is first about integrity to ourselves - delivering on a promise we make to ourselves first before it is about other people.

Let’s move on to talking about the three levels of accountability:

Accountability to self

Accountability to others

Accountability to God

Why is accountability important?

Accountability is part of being a person of integrity- when you are one with who you are on the outside as much as you are on the inside. If you are committed to living a life of integrity then you must be a person who delivers on their promises even to yourself.

It makes you responsible and reliable even before others.

Improves your performance- when you hold yourself accountable and allow others to do so for you, then you will be someone whose performance or quality of life will improve in all ways

It inspires confidence in your abilities because seeing yourself deliver on value is a way to inspire confidence in others as well.

Accountability helps you to build trust and social capital with other people. When others see the results you can get in your own life then they are pre inclined to place some level of trust in you.

Accountability helps you to break through limitations that you may have set for yourself in your mind. The moment you set a target for yourself and you can exceed your own expectations the more you begin to believe that you can get things done for yourself.

One story that reminds so much about accountability to self is the story of RUTH in the Bible.

RUTH chose to follow Naomi, no one coerced or forced her to. She could have gone back the moment Naomi asked her to

But for her it was a matter of integrity and being true to what she believed she needed to do in that moment - embrace the God of Israel, and care for her mother in law.

Her level of personal accountability gave her more confidence to find herself working in the fields as a foreigner

It became a propeller for her to go lie at the feet of BOAZ and get him to be her kinsman redeemer and eventually getting herself a space in the lineage of grace by marrying BOAZ.

Accountability first to yourself is even so much more important that accountability to others.

In the next episode for week 6 we will go further on the subject of accountability and dig deeper into accountability to others and to God.

Let’s pray: Help me to see myself as you see me and to be a person of integrity in all things Amen