Presenting ...
... a weekly letter of encouragement.
22 January, 1997 - Singapore
Good Morning!
ACCOUNTABILITY OR ANONYMITY?
A popular buzz word bandied about in Christian circles these days
is "accountability." The question is often asked, "Are
you accountable to anyone?"
I would suggest that in reality most of us are more anonymous
than we are accountable. We may appear to be
accountable in our Christian world, but in the highly
secularized environment of values that conflict with ours we
become anonymous.
We soon learn that "to get along is to go along,"
since today in most circles it's not considered acceptable
to have strong convictions on anything...except not
to have strong convictions! Those who are overly vocal with their
beliefs are soon labeled social or religious bigots.
And so to "get along", we soften our stance,
which in time has an eroding effect upon our convictions and values...and
upon our behavior. We learn to live in two worlds.
Often, in attempting to cope with our duplicity however,
we find ourselves privately riddled with tension and guilt.
But not to worry: We will discover that if we sublimate
our convictions long enough, they will eventually be neutralized
and our guilt will be numbed.
YOU WILL THEN BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE US BY OUR PASSIVITY,
STOIC RESIGNATION, AND SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE "NICENESS".
If you are caught in this kind of a pressure cooker and
are tempted to abandon personal ACCOUNTABILITY in favor of a more
comfortable ANONYMITY, keep in mind the Scripture's warning:
"There is nothing concealed that
will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known...He
will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose
the motives of men's hearts...For God will bring
every deed into judgment..." (Matthew 10:26; I Corinthians
4:5b; Ecclesiastes 12:14a)
QUESTION: To resist the temptation of receding into anonymity,
have you made the decision to make yourself accountable
not only to God, but to one or two brothers or sisters in the
faith?
My prayer is that you are having a great week!
Dwight Hill
- 1 Coleman Street #02-34
The Adelphi - Singapore 0617 .
- Phone: 337 6498; Fax: 336 9913
(c) Copyright 1996 Dwight Hill. Unlimited permission to copy or use is hereby granted subject to inclusion of this copyright notice.
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