Not forsaking or neglecting to assemble together [as believers], as is the habit of some people, but admonishing (warning, urging, and encouraging) one another, and all the more faithfully as you see the day approaching. – Hebrews 10:25, Amplified Bible (AMP)

William R. Patterson is an international, award-winning entrepreneurship trainer, business coach, and speaker. He is the CEO of the Baron Solution Group, which creates strategies to help business leaders increase capacity and accelerate growth. In his article 7 Success Habits of Millionaires, recently published in Inc. magazine, Patterson wrote:

Our wealthiest clients…have coaches and systems to hold them accountable. One of the great secrets to financial success that nearly all individuals fail to capitalize on is the idea of accountability. The CEOs of Fortune 500 companies have shareholders and a board of directors to hold them accountable…The average individual or small business owner has no external driver to push him or her…It is this lack of accountability that causes many individuals and entrepreneurs to procrastinate, make poor financial decisions, and to take on unnecessary risk.

Patterson’s message of accountability, although given in a business context, has tremendous application to the Christian walk. Verses like Hebrews 10:25 and Proverbs 27:17 teach us the importance of accountability in the spiritual realm. It is through interaction with our brothers and sisters in Christ that we benefit from the warnings, urgings, teachings, and encouragement that help us draw closer to God. As our relationship with God grows, the quality of our lives will improve, for when our hearts are right, the issues of life that flow from the heart will bring God’s blessings rather than His chastisement. If, however, we shirk the accountability that comes with interacting with our fellow believers, our hearts will wither spiritually, incurring God’s wrath rather than His favor.

Finding a good church home and attending regularly is important. Spending time with one or more believers, preferably in social settings where you can discuss life’s issues without rushing, is important. Like Proverbs 27:17 states, iron sharpens iron, but it only does so when the pieces of iron interact. So, interact, and benefit from the accountability that your relationships with your fellow believers will bring.