Accountability Questions From the Bible
I just listened to a sermon from T.D Jakes that shook me and I decided to put it in my own words, somewhere I can always go back to read when I need them.
For the longest time, I always imagined that the serpent talked to only Eve but I learned today, from Genesis 3:6, that Adam was also present at that sermon. They both were deceived by the serpent and made the decision to eat the forbidden fruit together.
Genesis 3:6b (ICB) — She also gave some of the fruit to her husband, WHO WAS WITH HER, and he ate it.
After eating the fruit, their eyes were open and they realised they were naked, realised they had made a mistake. Then they heard the Lord walking in the garden and they made a second mistake, they hid. They hid because they were afraid. They tried to cover up the first mistake they had made instead of coming clean. A lot of people try to cover up their mistakes and this leads to even more mistakes, as did it for Adam and Eve.
Then the Lord asked Adam the first question in Genesis 3:9:
Genesis 3:9 (ICB) — But the Lord called to the man. The Lord said “Where are you?”
Where are you?
This question asks about Self Accountability. Where are you right now in your life? Have you lost yourself in all the lies trying to cover up your mistake? If only Adam had answered this question right. In Genesis 3:12, Adam started playing the blame game. He said: “You gave this woman to me. She gave me fruit from the tree. So I ate it”. Eve also said: “The snake tricked me. So I ate the fruit”. Yep! It’s everyone’s fault but ours. Making yourself accountable for your mistakes is the first step to redemption. Where are you?
Years later, Adam and Eve gave birth to Cain and Abel. Abel took care of the sheep and Cain was a farmer. They both brought a gift to God; Cain brought some food from his farm while Abel brought the best parts of his sheep. The Lord accepted Abel’s gift but refused Cain’s. Cain became very angry and the Lord asked the second question in Genesis 4:6:
Genesis 4:6a (ICB) — The Lord asked Cain, “Why are you angry?”
Why are you angry?
This question asks about Emotional Accountability. What’s going on in your emotions? What do you feel inside? You are not accountable for what a person says to you but you are accountable for how you feel and respond. A lot of us are angry at the world and many times, we are not sure why exactly we are. We wake up sad and are sad all the time but we fail to do some introspection to find out why we feel that way. Failure to define your emotions and control or fix them will eventually lead to an emotional outburst. An unchecked anger leads to murder. Not necessarily physical murder of a human being, could be emotional, mental, financial or marital murder. Why are you sad? Why are you unhappy? Why are you angry?
In the second part of Genesis 4:6, the Lord asked Cain the third question:
Genesis 4:6b (ICB) — “Why do you look so unhappy?”
Why do you look so unhappy?
This question asks about Behavioural Accountability. Why has your behaviour changed? Why has the light gone out of your eyes? If something is not right inside you, it will definitely reflect in your behaviour and countenance. Because you have an unchecked emotion, you’ve turned into something that you are not. You’ve become this angry person that scares people away. You’ve become unapproachable. You’ve forgotten how to take care of yourself because you’re so sad and looking good doesn’t matter. You hurt everyone around you and you couldn’t care less. Look into the mirror, can you recognise yourself? Why has your countenance fallen? Why do you look so unhappy?
God proceeded to explain to Cain why he refused his sacrifice in Genesis 4:7. A fourth question can be framed from this.
Genesis 4:7a (NIV)— “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?”
Why don’t you fix it?
You have done what is wrong, why don’t you turn this around by doing what is right? You are accountable for the decisions you make. All Cain had to do at this point was apologise and go to Abel to ask for some lessons on giving the best gifts that God will love. All he had to do was fix the situation in the right way and he’d be accepted. You’ve done wrong! You have failed! You’ve made a mistake! Yes you are angry! Yes you feel you’ve been done a lot of wrong! Yes you feel you were judged unfairly! Yes you are going through a world of hurt! Why don’t you make a decision to take appropriate steps to fix it? If you need to learn something to fix it, why don’t you humble yourself and seek help? Stop feeling sorry for yourself! Don’t dwell in that wrong! Don’t dwell in that hurt! Why don’t you fix it?
In the b part of Genesis 4:7, God warned Cain of what will happen if he doesn’t fix it.
Genesis 4:7b (combination of NIV and ICB) — “But if you do not do what is right, sin is ready to attack you. Sin wants you. But you must rule over it”
Cain still refused to do what is right. He refused to define the emotions, the anger, hurt, pride, he felt. He refused to ask himself why he looked unhappy. What did he do? He led his brother into the field and killed him. So sad it had to get to this for Cain, but then it gets to this for many of us. It gets to something or someone dying before we learn our lesson (if we do learn our lesson).
Then the Lord came to Cain in Genesis 4:9 and said to him:
Genesis 4:7 ( ICB) — Later, the Lord said to Cain, ”Where is your brother Abel?”
Where is your brother?
You are accountable for how you treat other people. Cain’s anger led to him killing his brother. What has your anger led you to do? You may have not killed someone physically but have your words or actions? We’ve seen how angry and insensitive comments on social media have plunged a lot of people into depression.
Colossians 4:6 “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”.
When the lord asked Cain this question, he wore the defensive coat and answered “I don’t know. Is it my job to take care of my brother?”. News flash! Yes it’s your job to take care of your brother. It doesn’t hurt to be kind. Where have your words and actions taken your brother? Depression? Despair? Death? Where is your brother?
- Where are you?
- Why are you angry?
- Why do you look so unhappy?
- Why don’t you fix it?
- Where is your brother?
These questions are hard to answer! Really hard! I wrote them here so I can remember to answer them often. I hope you do too.
