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.
In the present age, the most significant industry is the ‘loophole industry’—finding ways to evade rules and laws. No matter how comprehensive it may be, any law is, after all, expressed in human language, which undoubtedly is a limited means of expression. It cannot encompass all aspects in an unlimited way. It is why loopholes exist or can be found in all the laws made in human language.
Some people can manage to find loopholes in almost every law. For example, a trader acts against a tax law. As a result, he does not pay as much tax as he legally should. The tax authorities, citing a clause in the tax laws, institute a case against him. The trader then employs a legal expert in exchange for a considerable fee. This legal expert studies the tax laws and discovers a legal point in which he finds that the particular tax law cannot apply to the trader.
This issue is not just of one trader and one legal expert. Instead, it is almost every person’s case. People are often on the lookout to find a way to escape from some responsibility, thinking that others will not be able to do anything against them for this evasion or will not notice their dereliction of duty. It removes the aspect of fear from their life, although it is not possible for a person to lead a disciplined life without an element of fear.
Belief in God is the only solution to this problem. It entails believing in a Being that is bigger than all human beings 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 with no concept of 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. On such occasions, only a living belief in God’s omniscience can act as a firm check on that tendency. It is only belief in God that can genuinely discipline him.
The necessity of belief in God for an individual and society is definite proof of God’s existence. The fact that the proper conduct of human life is not possible without belief in God itself proves that God does indeed exist and that each person is accountable to 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 is a belief in human progress. It 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.
