Accountability ...

The new buzz word since the departure of the Bush administration has become accountability.  The idea is that we will hold someone responsible for the tasks they have been assigned to fix.  If they fail, they will be held to account.  Crooked CEO’s could be held to account for fraudulent or perhaps even stupid actions and decisions.  I imagine the thirst for “justice” is fairly pent-up at the moment, and this new buzz word may hang around for a while. 

It is unfortunate, but there are those in the Christian community who are more than willing to accept the truth that God is the only being capable of freeing them from their evil nature.  However, their willing acceptance of this truth is coupled with the idea that if they then continue to embrace evil, God is ultimately responsible for their evil.  Accountability can safely be transferred to God, leaving them free to do whatever comes their way.  They have correctly embraced the freedom of the gospel, but have forgotten what the gospel actually is for.

Every single individual will ultimately be responsible for the one singular choice they make – whether to accept or reject the gift of salvation God has to offer them.  This decision is monumental, as it is a life changing decision.  It has effects both here and now, as well as an entire plan beyond the scope of this world.  And unfortunately because of free-will, it is not a one-time only non-revocable deal.  Having chosen to embrace the gift of God, you remain free to change your mind and ultimately reject it later.  It is not a decision that robs you of your free-will, therefore it reinforces it.  You do not have to recommit every other day, or after every mis-step or mis-deed.  It is neither your good deeds that save you, nor your bad deeds that cause you to lose out on salvation.  It is a simple choice to follow God or not.  To accept His gift or to reject it.

One of the real problems with evil, beyond its addictive nature, and its destructive nature, is its repetitive nature and the impact it has on the overall decision making process.  Any repeated behavior becomes habit over time, even instinctual.  When engaged long enough it becomes a part of who you are at your core, and can wind itself into your genetics to be passed on for generations to come.  If evil is allowed to run unchecked it spreads like a cancer as fast as it can go, taking over every facet of mind and body, attempting to crowd out even the thoughts of a saving God alternative. 

Accepting yourself as an evil creature by design, with no ability to change yourself, is ONLY half the way to salvation.  It is not accepting yourself and therefore your evil nature as just who you are, that God is looking for.  He is looking for you to complete the thought, and embrace His power to change you.  This is the GIFT of salvation itself, a life free from evil.  That is what He is trying to give you.  Your condition is not an excuse to stay evil, it is a recognition of the need for change only He can provide.  Recognition is a wake-up call, it’s time to change, not fall back to sleep.  Recognition is not supposed to be a snooze alarm.

Those who cling to evil, do not yet see it in its truest form.  They remain deceived by its meticulous marketing campaign, refined over the last 6000 years, by the master crafter of every form of evil.  Ever since the talking snake lied in the tree in the Garden, the lies have only gotten bigger, better, and harder to uncover.  Evil has only one recourse since its failure and ultimate extinction is guaranteed – it must work harder to inflict pain wherever it can on whoever will buy this form of junk.  Satan has spent his existence glorifying that which would destroy you and criticizing that which would renew you.

Think of the emptiness that follows the pursuit of power, control, wealth, and even living forever.  All men die.  And so ends whatever wealth, health, power, or acquisitions they have managed to accumulate in their meager time on earth.  Yet all these empty vain pursuits are so glorified by Satan they become the very fabric of the American dream.  Work hard, earn a good living, buy your own home, and make life better for your kids.  Problem is, since you have no control, you can do all these things and accomplish nothing.  In the end, having achieved all these things, the meaning is still missing, because service has been all but forgotten in the chase.

Serving the poor, the destitute, those in prison (who may well be guilty, but like you, their guilt does not change their need) – these actions are considered under the category of charity which can be excused in other forms such as giving money to United Way, in church, or to the occasional homeless guy.  Actual serving of others with our own hands, feet, sweat, and time are hardly ever even considered.  Service suffers from the pursuit of our life goals (all of which have been highly influenced by evil).

Our perceptions are warped.  We must remove the shackles from our eyes and see evil for what it truly is – pain incarnate.  Pain in a box.  Pain in a shiny wrapper.  Pain for you, for those who love you, for those you love.  Evil is nothing but pain for everyone.  Every variation of evil leads back to pain.  Christians who have the audacity to declare they can sin whenever they want to, cause God is in charge of fixing them – are effectively saying – I like the pain I live in, and want to keep hurting me, you, and everyone else, cause pain is fun.  Sin is not the reward, it is the punishment.  Freedom from sin is the reward.  To not act in a way that causes pain, is the goal.

Holding on to sin, or evil, in any form is like holding a sharp knife to your own naked body, and begin cutting things here and there.  “Cutters” in our society are restrained for their own good by “thinking” people.  The reason is that the “cutters” do not recognize the pain they inflict on themselves.  They like it.  They like the feeling of cutting into their own flesh.  “Normal” people see this is as a problem.  Yet the damage evil causes is just as real as cutting oneself, or even others.  Not all of the consequences of evil are as immediate to see as cutting yourself, but often the delayed consequences carry even more damage when finally seen.

The entire point of salvation is not to accept a life of sin, it is to embrace a life free from it.  You are accountable for your decision to accept God’s gift.  In accepting this gift of freedom, you are allowing God to change what needs to be changed in your life.  In every facet of your life.  Remember that like cancer invades many things and poisons everything it touches, so evil invades your desires, your thoughts, your ideas, the very core of who you are.  To remove evil, God must begin removing, and recreating these parts of who you are down to the very core of your being.  But you can trust Him.  The things He removes, He recreates the way they were intended.

He will take away your emptiness and give you purpose.  He will identify you uniquely from every other living being who has ever lived on planet earth or who will ever live on it – and speak to your heart, heal your needs, restore your hope, and be your God.  Your life is His gift to you.  He will remove all that plagues it, all that creates pain and chaos, and give you peace.  This is the gift of God.  A reason for hope itself.  Freedom from evil that will last through eternity is the agenda He brings to you.  Isn’t this what everyone needs?  Isn’t this exactly what you need?  Will you accept a restoration with your God?