The other day I was at work when a few fellow employees came in. They had carpooled- and the rider was adamant that never again would he be a passenger for the driver. This passenger claimed that the driver had been on his phone nearly the whole entire time they had been on the road, making the passenger feel quite unsafe. I had commented that, “Oh yeah, I don't look at my phone when I drive anymore,” and they mistakenly thought it was because I have a righteous care and concern for the safety of myself and those in my car. However, that is not the case. I can't look at my phone while I’m driving because I have State Farm’s Drive & Save Discount. To be clear, I do care about the safety of those in my vehicle… but the discount is motivating.

With the Drive and Save app you get a discount based on how well you drive. They track your acceleration, braking, cornering, phone distraction and speed. While I always care about driving safely- there is an added incentive when I know that my driving is being reviewed. For example, I’m the president of our homeschool co-op board, and on co-op days on my way to our classes I’ll get dozens of texts from people with updates or questions or issues. Normally, if I’m driving and conditions are favorable, I won’t hesitate to grab my phone and send a quick reply…. But now that I know it’ll reflect on my driving score I’ll do the right thing and wait until I arrive to respond. Or sometimes traffic will be going much faster than the speed limit and I’ll automatically match the rest of the traffic…but no longer. Nothing over 5 miles above the limit or else it’ll affect my speed score. So as I got to talking to my co-workers about the restrictions I feel that I’m under from State Farm, we got to talking about what if other areas of our lives were monitored like State Farm monitors my driving. Just like when I’m behind the wheel, I know the right things to do for safety BUT sometimes I’ll make an exception for myself. It turns out that for me, having a monitor on my vehicle is exactly the accountability I needed to keep me in line. What other areas in our lives are there where we know the right thing to do but make a little exception for ourselves? Do you need a beacon to keep you accountable in some areas of temptation in your life?

We will all be accountable for our lives- at some point. Hebrews 4:13 tells us, "And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account." Wouldn't it be better to set yourself up with some kind of monitor NOW so that you can stay on track before you have to give an account to your creator?

The Bible is full of verses encouraging us to help and support each other. Of course, it’s not easy to be vulnerable enough to ask someone to help keep you accountable- but it’s something I think we all need in various aspects of our lives and faith. I’d really like to encourage everyone to find someone you can work to form a relationship of honesty and accountability with- and that doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to jump straight into sharing all your life’s struggles. A great first step would be to find another believer that you can just bond with- form a friendship first. Maybe you don’t feel like you need much accountability right now- then work now to establish a relationship you can rely on when you need the support. Just like Proverbs 27:17 says, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” We need other faithful believers to keep sharp. Galatians 6:2 tells us to bear one another’s burdens. I can’t bear your burdens if I don’t know about them- and I can’t know about them if we don’t have a relationship where you feel comfortable sharing.

I’ll leave you with these thoughts and an encouragement to find someone who can act as a monitor for you.