ACCOUNTABILITY TO GOD
Accountability instils the fact in people’s minds that their freedom is not absolute and that God will take account of everyone’s words and deeds on the Day of Judgement.
It is essential that man should have within his reach, a super formula for life’s management. God provides just such a formula—a complete principle for life’s management.
Human beings are not like machines, controlled by a mechanical system; nor are they like animals, governed by their instincts. Human beings enjoy freedom. They take decisions about their actions of their own free will. Now the question arises as to how to keep man on the right course, how to make him consistently disciplined in his behaviour. History shows the ineffectiveness of all worldly measures in this connection, whether social pressures, enforcement of the law of the land or the appeals of reformers.
The Truth is that for the attainment of disciplined behaviour, it is essential for one to be convinced of the existence of a Power far Superior to himself, a Being Who is aware of man’s activities at every moment.
There can be only One Being of this Nature and that is God. Belief in God functions at two levels at the same time. On the one hand, man finds in God a Guardian Who is aware of all his activities and Who has unlimited power to chastise him. It is not possible for man to escape God’s chastisement. Belief in God compels man to steadfastly adopt a proper attitude in all situations, privately as well as publicly. Only then can he save himself from the wrath of God.
Another point is that belief in God is a storehouse of limitless hope. Man can lead his life in this world with the conviction that if he incurs any loss because of treading the path of Truth, or if he suffers from any other adversity, he will be able to endure it. For if he adheres to the path of Truth, God will grant him a reward in the form of eternal Paradise, and there can be no reward greater than this.
The concept of God provides man with an ideology in which loss is turned to gain and in which adversity brings with it good tidings. It is, therefore, submission to God and living a God-oriented life that is the only way of life for both man and the Universe.
Belief in God entails believing in a Being that is bigger than all humans and has ultimate control over every individual. He knows everything, and everyone is answerable to Him. He can punish everyone for their sins; no one is out of His grasp. In this way, belief in God introduces in man a particular aspect of fear, the presence of which is essential for human life.
God knows all things. He knows all the things that people reveal and all they conceal. He knows the condition of every heart. He knows what we think and how we feel. Wherever we may be, we are in God’s sight. In no condition are we out of His reach.
Accountability comes from this concept of God. This belief instils the fact in people’s minds that their freedom is not absolute and that God will take account of everyone’s words and deeds on the Day of Judgement. God is continuously watching every person. God watches all of us constantly.
It is this understanding that makes a person God-fearing. When an aggregate of such people come together, they form a righteous society. Conversely, a society without accountability to God will fall prey to total anarchy.
Belief in God is necessary for the proper conduct of human life. Man repeatedly falls prey to temptations that cause him to give in to injustice and oppression. Only a living belief in God’s omniscience can be a firm check on that tendency. It is only belief in God that can genuinely discipline him.
Belief in God gives man certainty. It disciplines his life. It gives him the confidence and assurance that if he abstains from evil in his daily life and follows the path of virtue, he will simultaneously obtain benefits. First, he will be saved from God’s chastisement. Second, he will earn an eternal reward for righteous living in eternal Paradise from God.
The belief in accountability to God acts as a powerful incentive for the perfection of humanity. This belief puts human life on the path of Truth so that it will never stop until the journey ends.
