What About the Spinach?
Accountability. It is something we all realize that we need. It is something most of us say that we want, but do we really? There are often things in our lives that we can't see in ourselves. We often get caught up in the franticness of our lives, the stress and disappointments, the anxieties and fear. Sometimes even the blessings and the good things can bring in pride and over confidence. We loose sight of ourselves. We perhaps even loose sight of the condition of our heart.
Let's examine if we really do want to know; if we want to be held accountable. Do we really need it? Do I want someone telling me that what I am doing is wrong? If I am being honest, it is certainly not my favorite thing. I can get my feelings hurt, or blame the other person instead of seeing it in myself. It requires humility and the ability to take responsibility for it. I must receive it, repent and change. However, there are often times when I get my feelings hurt or disagree. There might even be times when I agree and realize it's a problem but decide to deal with it later.
The problem is that I have spinach in my teeth. Everyone can see it but me. If someone doesn't tell me, I won't know. If someone does have the 'courage' to tell me, I have three options. I can either go and take care of it and remove it. I can choose to wait until later to deal with this issue. Or I can choose to not deal with it at all. What often happens is that if the spinach isn't removed it gets more and more disgusting over time. It might feel like it is just about me, but in reality it is affecting everyone that I come in contact with. They have to look at it. As I continue with the disgusting spinach in my teeth somehow my picture gets taken. There it is. Now I can see it. Very clearly it is right there. Here is another opportunity for me to deal with this issue. .More people can see it now, more people are affected by it, but it is only a few. If I choose AGAIN to not take care of it and deal with it, eventually there is another picture taken and this one gets posted on the internet for all to see. There I am, for all to see with that disgusting spinach in my teeth.
The truth is, that as I allow wrong attitudes, sin, deceit and other things to continue, in other words, if the spinach isn't removed, this issue becomes deeper and more prominent. As the issue continues and grows, I end up affecting more people. My issue begins to cause harm to others. That is my greatest fear, that others will be hurt or damaged because I didn't deal with these matters.
This morning as I was praying, I remembered the Prayer of Jabez in 1 Chronicles 4:10 "Oh that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain" My heart cried out to God as I read that and repented. Sometimes the way God keeps us from evil is by having someone else tell us the truth. If we don't listen, others will be harmed. The truth is that if we sin, if we continue in evil, we begin to affect others and we end up causing pain. .
Yes Lord, I cry out for accountability today. May I be surrounded by people who love me the way I am and have the courage to let me know when I am not being my 'best self'. Then, may I have the courage to remove it from my life as quickly as possible