A little bit of accountability

The first week of April, I came down with a chest cold that turned into bronchitis that turned into pneumonia. I wasn't able to run or go to the gym for 3 weeks so I was getting to sleep till 6am every morning. Sleeping-in is very addictive and so this week when I was finally back to the point where I could run, I just couldn't make myself get out of bed to do it. Yesterday my running buddy, Sharon called to see how I was feeling. I told her I was feeling well, but that I just couldn't make myself get up this past week. She encouraged me to meet her and the rest of the group to run this morning and I agreed. When my alarm went off at 4:30 this morning, I wanted to just shut it off like I had every other running day this past week, but this time people were expecting me so I dragged my weary bones out of bed and met my group to run.

It has been the same with my Bible study this past week. There have been evenings that I would have preferred to flip through a magazine or just hit the pillow, but because I have told you that I would post here about my study time, I felt accountable and made myself do it anyway. Last night, I read in the book of Deuteronomy and this was the message...

Deuteronomy 6:4-7

⁴ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. ⁵ Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

These are very well known verses and at first I didn't feel like I had anything to add, but when I was getting dressed to run this morning and thinking about the difference a little bit of accountability makes it occurred to me that God is probably asking why I don't feel the same accountability to Him. Whoa. That thought hit me like a ton of bricks. God expects me to spend time in His Word and to set aside a quiet time for prayer, so why do I not feel that same sense of accountability? When you love someone, you invest time in the relationship and make an effort to meet their expectations. I know that I love God, but if I am going to love Him with all my heart, soul and strength I need to realize that I am accountable for investing the time to nurture the relationship and make myself do it even on the days when I don't feel like it or would rather be doing something else.