We'll read 2 Samuel 12: 1-14.

1 The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, 'There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

4 'Now a traveller came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveller who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him."

5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, 'As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity."

7 Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master's house to you, and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more.

9 Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.'

11 'This is what the LORD says: 'Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.' "

13 Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord"  Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, [1] the son born to you will die."


It's very difficult to keep an eye on ourselves.

It''s not easy to keep ourselves accountable.

Let's be honest, we can't always see all our own faults, so we need friends, brothers, sisters who will watch out for us.

We could call them 'accountability partners' , people who are a vital part of our walks with Christ.

We all need someone to watch us, tell us what we do wrong, and then try to help us fix what it is that we messed up. We need someone to be a living breathing W.W.J.D bracelet.

One of the greatest stories in the Bible that displays accountability is found in 2 Samuel 12: 1-14.

It is the story of Nathan holding David accountable and then rebuking him.

Nathan tells David a story about two men; a rich man and a poor man. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, while the poor man only owned one lamb.

One day a traveller came to stay with the rich man, but he refused to kill one of his own sheep or cattle to make a meal for the visitor.

Instead he took the lamb from the poor man and prepared it for the meal.

When David heard this story, he burned with anger against the man, and said to Nathan, "As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! He must pay for that lamb and four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity."

Here comes the best part, folks!! At that moment, Nathan stopped David and said "You are that man!"

David had been caught with his hand in the biscuit tin

He was trapped.  Nathan then began to tell David about all the ways the Lord was going to punish him, but David was wise enough to admit that he had sinned, and Nathan then assured David that the Lord had forgiven him and was not going to punish him.

Accountability is important in our walks as Christians.

We need people in our lives to tell us when we do something wrong. We need friends that we can trust and tell anything to. Someone who is willing to tell us the truth, even if it will hurt. They are essential to our growth as Christian.

So if you don't have someone like that, pray about it, ask God for someone to hold you accountable. He will give you someone...

It's been said that "Truth is like surgery; it may hurt, but it heals."

Praise God.