You're welcome Stephen! Please remind me also, as I need it.

For me, the accountability route never worked. All it did was motivate me to stifle my desires out of not wanting to be embarassed or confronted. True, it kept me from externalizing the internal sinful desires, but those desires still churned and found their way out in other ways regardless. It also baited me further into legalism, where I didn't feel right with God because I sinned in a certain way 5 days out of the week, and I knew that somebody else knew about it. It was a circular ratrace.

The only thing that made any difference to me was experiencing its reprocussions in near totality and learning the depths of God's grace, in that He loves me anyway regardless. There's something about the free grace of God, and knowing/understanding/experiencing that you are accepted in the beloved no matter what you do, that grabs your affections and places them on the pleasures of Christ over and above the pleasures of sin.

The bottom line is this: the reason why we choose to sin is that we don't love Jesus enough! And, no amount of legalisms or accountability or filters will change that, as you well know. Only the grace of God will. And, He will win our hearts.

That's my opinion at this time, and I certainly honor those who differ.

Blessings!

__________________
Charles Plauger
Member/Grace Reformed Church
Oakland, MD