Public & Accountable...I Need That!

This morning my alarm went off at 5:30.  I groggily reached over to shut it off, and then lay quietly in the dark.  What kind of crazy person willingly gets up at 5:30?  I lay under the warm blankets, quite tempted to just stay put.  I had a zillion reasons to just go back to sleep.  Temptation surrounded me.  It took every ounce of energy to throw aside the sheets and meet the cold air.

What motivated me to actually move?  Wednesday morning is basketball morning here in Eyota.  I join a group of guys who hit the gym at 6:00 and play for an hour.  It keeps me in shape, but that’s not what got me out of bed.  I love the game, but could easily talk myself out of it in the darkness of 5:30.  I got up because people expected me to.  I’ve committed to get myself on the court by 6:00.  It’s not that anyone forces me to do anything that I don’t want to do.  I’m publically accountable for my actions.  Those expectations supported my decision to do what I knew I wanted to do: get up!  At 5:30 in the morning, with excuses swirling, I needed those expectations.

Last January I committed to reading through the entire Bible in 2011.  I’d made the attempt before and failed. It’s easy to get behind and find 1001 excuses why it’s not worth the effort.  Reading through the Bible in a year takes serious commitment.

I’m pleased to report that I made it!  I got into a routine of getting up a few minutes early and heading right for the Bible.  At times I lacked the motivation to keep charging along, but every time that happened I remembered my public promise to finish it.  If I quit I wouldn’t just let myself down…I’d have to admit to others that I didn’t do what I wanted to do.   The excuses faded away.  I kept going and finished what I started.

Now, as the calendar has flipped over to 2012, I find myself in a bit of a bind.  I had plans of continuing with morning devotions…but the excuses have found their way back into my life.  I haven’t had that public accountability…and I’ve slacked.  It’s not that I need others to force me to do something I hate…I need others to support me to do what I want to do!  I can work through all kinds of excuses on my own, but those excuses sound pretty lame when I try to explain them to someone else.

So it looks like I need to be public and accountable again!  Starting tomorrow morning, I plan to take 5 to 10 minutes each morning in Bible reading and prayer.  It won’t be a ‘through the year’ kind of thing.  I want to be able to focus on smaller passages and ponder them more deeply.  I will begin with the Gospel of Matthew, reading a portion, imagining what it would be like to be in the story, and asking God what it might mean for my life.  It’s something I enjoy, but apparently I need the support of others to get it done.

For me, this is the church at its best…supporting each other as we grow in faith.  As God’s people we can help each other in so many ways: devotions, prayer, diet, exercise, getting enough sleep, cutting back on work, putting in enough work, keeping the house clean, quitting smoking, cutting back (or stopping) drinking…the list can go on and on.  The Holy Spirit works through others to support us.  In what areas might some sort of public accountability help in your life?  You are not alone!  Let God work through others to help you do what you know you want (or need) to do!