Day #10: Iron Sharpens Iron

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!” ~Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Teenagers like to be independent, unrestrained, and in control. Believe me I know because I am one. The teen years are a transition between childhood and adulthood, and too often we want to jump from being passenger to pilot when we aren't ready for it. The teenage years are a time of learning about life, but also about accountability and responsibility.   

Guys tend to have more trouble with learning accountability than girls, because guys naturally want to have all the control over themselves, and other people. Which explains why there haven't been that many female tyrants, because guys, in their natural habitats, are rather animalish freaks. 

When we are children, we are accountable to our parents, but when we become adults, that accountability switches from our parents, to ourselves, others, and God. Our friends can also be channels of accountability. Like Ecclesiastes says, two are better than one, because they can help each other out! True friends are for asking how you're doing, and really meaning it. Proverbs 27:17 says, "Iron sharpens iron, so one a man sharpens the countenance of his friend." 

Trust is essential to accountability. Unless you can trust a person, you cannot be accountable to them. A true friend is someone who loves you no matter what, and isn't afraid of seeing who you really are under your mask. "A friend loves at all times, and is born, as is a brother, for adversity." Proverbs 17: 17  Trustworthy people are hard to find, and a good friend is a diamond in the rough. Gitotto di Bondone said, "The sincere friends of this world are as ship lights in the stormiest of nights." 

Marriage is the ultimate test of accountability, and sadly, many fail this test, which is why the divorce rate in America is 50%. We hear about it every day, in songs, celebrities, and reality, lack of accountability destroys marriages because people can no longer trust each other. Couples too often try to do things individually, instead of together, and the end up falling with no one to help them up. This world has a massive lack of accountability which is being replaced with apathy and compromise.

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man." Ecclesiastes 12:13

~Andy