I have a great friend. He is the brother I never had, but he is more than any brother I could have ever hoped for. We are brothers like David and Jonathan were brothers in the Bible. We are covenant brothers (we’ve coined the shorthand CovBro).

What is accountability? The dictionary simply says it means “to give an account or to give an answer.” It doesn’t say “to give an excuse or to give the rationale.”

Accountability means there is only black and white. No gray. Either I did what I was supposed to do. Or I didn’t. King Solomon said it this way:

Young people, it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do.

Before it’s time to give an account to God, wouldn’t you like someone else to hold you accountable? I would!

In this everything’s-relevant, I’m-not-responsible-for-my-own-actions world, finding someone who will actually hold you to a rigid “Yes, I did it” or “No, I didn’t do it” standard is rare. But my CovBro is one who holds me accountable.

When we meet each month, he asks me the hard questions:

• How are your business dealings?
• Are you spending enough time with God?
• Are you doing what God has called you to do?
• What’s happening in your marriage? Your relationship with your kids? Your church?

He gets my internet usage report from X3 Watch. He is the iron that sharpens my iron. He accepts no wishy-washy answers nor any flimsy excuses. I do the same for him. And we’re both better off for it.

Do you really want to be accountable? Then find someone that loves you too much to let you get away with anything less than your very best. Someone who will hold you to God’s standards. Someone who will sharpen your iron. It can be painful. But the results are so worth it!