Accountability

We all know what it is like to buy something, take it home and start putting it together only to realize that it is missing something. The solution is simply to take it back to the store and replace it with another one that is complete. That may work okay with things, but it doesn’t work too well with our children. Our children need certain principles taught to them as they are growing up or they will flounder in adulthood. Accountability is one of those principles missing in so many people’s lives today.

Accountability is the concept that teaches us that we are answerable to someone. First to God, then to our parents and to those who are in authority. Learning to be accountable is a quality that will help a child be a better spouse, a better parent, a better employee and a better friend. We all need accountability because it helps hold us in check. Without it we would be like the water in a river without levees. Accountability helps keep us honest, faithful and responsible with our time and with other people’s money and resources.

When a child becomes school-age and he or she understands accountability, they will do much better in hearing and following instructions from their teachers. It will be that way on the job and set them apart from others who are not accountable. Later, when they are married, it will help them be accountable to each other, thereby helping them to enjoy their marriage much more.

One of the reasons we are seeing so many problems with young people in school today is the absence of accountability. Early sexual exploration by teens foolishly exposes them to dangerous STD’s and emotional depression. This is happening because they feel completely unaccountable to their parents. Most of these young people live to regret their premature sexual activity because they weren’t ready cognitively or emotionally. If they had been taught accountability, they would have been spared the STD’s and the deep emotional pain they suffer.

One of the reasons so many marriages are failing is because these young people grow into adults and know nothing of accountability. Unaccountable adults blame all their problems on other people, their parents, their teachers, their spouses and even the government. This unaccountability invites misery and leads to personal failure. Accountability requires us to achieve better results and be a better person. Ultimately, when we are accountable to God, we will be accountable to others.