Accountability or Legalism?

SS Attendence cardA recent conversation with a friend brought back a childhood church memory that I had all but forgotten – the Sunday school attendance card.  Each Sunday, we recorded how “faithful” we had been during the week in such matters as daily Bible reading, lesson study, giving an offering, and church worship attendance. Individuals and classes received grades related to the accomplishment of those activities.

My guess is the demise is due to at least two somewhat opposite conditions.  On the one hand, such a practice could lead to a legalistic and empty pride.  One might simply go through the motions of “accomplishing” all the activities indicated on the card and feel good about themselves for merely doing them, all the while receiving no real lasting spiritual benefit from them at all. On the other hand the practice may have disappeared due to our great aversion to accountability.  We didn’t want to read our Bible daily, bring an offering, stay for church, or study our Sunday school lesson, and we didn’t want anyone else to KNOW we didn’t do it, so we removed the evidence.

While those activities may have become someone’s legalistic benchmark, they were at least initially deemed to be disciplines of spiritual value.  Studying one’s lesson, reading one’s Bible, contributing financially, and attending church are all ways that God uses to help us become more Christlike.  I am not advocating a return to the Sunday school attendance card, but I do think we need to discipline ourselves to godliness (1 Timothy 4:7).  When we removed the accountability, we stopped developing disciples.  When we stopped developing disciples, we fell sorely behind in impacting our world for Jesus.

I strongly encourage you to find an accountability partner or group who will spur you on toward love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24-25) and challenge you to INTENTIONALLY engage those activities that will help you grow to be more like Jesus.

Thankful for My Limp

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You would have thought he had experienced enough pain. Because of his deceitful ways, Jacob had infuriated his family and had to run away from home to escape his brother’s wrath. He went to live with a distant relative, fell in love, and planned to marry, only to experience deceit himself when his uncle tricked him into marrying the older, less attractive sister. Finally, he got the wife he wanted, but after fourteen years of living with his uncle, the tension was already at a boiling point and it was time to leave again.

He took his wives and his belongings and decided to head home hoping to make amends with his family. This man who took pleasure in getting his way by deceiving others now bore the soul pain of being deceived. For once in his life, he knew how those he had deceived felt, and finally he was remorseful. Nevertheless, he wondered if his brother would be gracious or vengeful.

The evening before the last leg of his trip home, he sent his family, his possessions, and the peace offering to his brother on ahead, and he stayed back to prepare himself and to reflect. As he slept that night, a stranger awakened him and a wrestling match ensued that lasted the whole night. Jacob held his own, and his sparring partner finally asked to be released. Jacob refused to release him without a blessing. This wrestling match changed Jacob’s life; a change signified by a name change from Jacob, which means “deceiver” to Israel, which means “one who struggled with God.” The rest of the story of course is that Jacob and his descendents finally settled and inhabited Palestine and became the nation of Israel.

However, if we read the story too hastily, we miss a subtle blessing in the story. During the wrestling match, Jacob’s opponent dislocated Jacob’s hip. Genesis 32:31 tells us that Jacob was “limping because of his hip.” He got his blessing, but in the process, he received a permanent reminder of this encounter with God: a gimpy hip. Every step he took, he lived with the memory of this life-changing encounter. I could think of a better souvenir – maybe a tee shirt, mug, or pin, but Jacob had a painful and constant reminder of the struggles he went through, lest he forget that the blessing of God comes at a cost, the cost of humility and sacrifice.

I have a few gimpy joints in my soul too. People have hurt me, circumstances have disappointed me, sins have beset me; but through it all, God has brought me through and given me a blessing while in the struggle. I am learning to see my limp as a reminder of the goodness and grace of God. Yes, I am thankful to walk with Jacob’s limp. It reminds me that I am not what I want to be, but praise God, I am not what I used to be.