I haven't been getting in my quiet times like I should, but last night's group has been challenging us to break out of our "rut" and put more towards God & others... They've also began accountability, and it's about time! The first 9yrs of my christian walk had been fortified with accountability - and as difficult as it was to adjust to, it definitely served as a catalyst into helping me become more like the man God saw me as, than the man I currently was.

Although it took a while to be open & vulnerable to my accountability partners, it made sense. We are all imperfect, and we all "hide" our faults (whether we mean to or not). I don't know about you, but any decision I can make on my own accord, is usually a horrible one - it's normally driven by selfish desire and since God's not really "in that picture", it usually turns out badly. So learning to obtain advice, from multiple sources, had to be learned (and appreciated).

But there's another side to this troubled coin - Holding someone accountable is a slippery slope as well. You want to hold someone accountable to God's standards, and yet you have to gauge where they are, in a spiritually-mature perspective, so you don't overload them. You can't be a dictator but you also can't go "kid gloves" on them as well. Finding that right balance can be incredibly difficult.

The world has taught us to follow this "if you want to get ahead in life, look out for only yourself" mentality, but we know that is doomed for failure. Even if you end up getting ahead, what was the cost? Who did you step on to get there? Would Jesus have followed the same steps?

To display the absolute contrast with this thinking, God has said, to get ahead in life, we need to look out for others. And to hit it all the way home, we need to think of them as better than ourselves.

	3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
	Philippians 2:3-4

God doesn't see us that way, and that is enough for praise! We're so busy on so many things, that there are people around us who need our help. Be that helping hand... share a "good morning" greeting, take the time to reach out to someone and there will be a difference in their day. So many people have done this for us throughout our entire lives, whether we have recognized it or not, remembered or not... and those things have drawn us closer to God.

As for our Christian family, let's also remember to not be afraid to ask questions without judgement... eagerly listen but intermittently speak... If God wants them to learn something during your time together, He will use you as his platform. Just leave your heart open, and yourself out of it. God's in control, and he is our Judge and Healer... let Him do His Work thru you.