As iron sharpens iron, so
one man sharpens another.
Proverbs 27:17
I always way to the flagmen who are directing traffic.
This is one of the most boring and thankless jobs in world. You stand for hours – often in the heat of the summer sun – and hold a heavy sign. Stop. Go. Melt in the sun. Freeze in the winter. Bored out of your skull.
I don’t know if it makes them feel any better, but I wave. I figure it’s a dose of humanity on an endlessly boring day.
Our sign for today is a flagman sign.
In this picture, our little flagman is holding a stop sign.
And what is the point of this sign on our journey to freedom? I’m using it to signify the need for accountability as we seek to escape our enslavements. It says to me: “Stop! Don’t go it alone! Trust your burdens to others.”
When Jesus sent out his disciples, he sent them in pairs. Why? I think it was for the blessing of accountability. (And probably mutual support and encouragement too!)
In my life, I’m a pretty smart guy. I’ve got pretty good instincts. But even if I get things right eighty or ninety percent of the time, those other ten or twenty percent can absolutely sink me! Those other ten or twenty percent of those can occasionally walk me to the edge of disaster. Therefore, I need someone to occasionally walk me back from the edge of the cliff.
I think that’s one of the primary reasons why God created marriage. It was for the blessing of accountability. In fact, my wife has walked me back from the edge of many cliffs. On my own, I could act foolishly. I could act angrily. I could have slip in my integrity. My wife is a piece of my accountability. (And she’s mutual support and encouragement too.)
Having a “partner” – including an accountability partner – is one of God’s foundational principles for human life (see page two of the Bible, Genesis 2:18).
More secular organizations pick up on this godly principle. That’s why there’s all kinds of cancer support groups and grief support groups and parents with disabilities associations. We need each other!
Alcoholics Anonymous is a good example. When AA seeks to set people free from their enslavement to addiction, one of the first things they do is link a new person with a veteran sponsor. This experienced accountability partner blesses the newly confessing alcoholic. They can say, “I’ve been there.” “You’re not alone.” “It’s hard, but you can do this.”
And yet it’s even more than that! These types of relationships are two-way streets. Testifying repeatedly to the discipline of sobriety blesses the sponsor too! In a wonderful twist, the sponsoree becomes a sort of accountability partner for sponsor. To help heal another person, the sponsor must stay strong themselves and must daily confess their own struggles.
If you’re on a journey to freedom, it’s counter-productive to try to do it on your own. God made you for community. But Satan keeps lying to you. He says, “No one will understand.” “If they know the true you, they won’t like you.”
Don’t flatter yourself. You are not the most creative person in the world. Others struggle daily with whatever is gripping you. Confess to someone who is trustworthy – like your pastor. Hear God’s forgiveness. Feel God’s embrace. And find a community that’s going through the same struggles.
In Christ’s Love,
a guy who believes
that iron shapens iron
… unfortunately, however,
I spend more time around
chocolate chip cookies
than iron
(Can you guess what
that’s doing to me?)
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