Full Accountability

The Detroit Lions fell to 1-1 on the season yesterday, as the Buffalo Bills’ offense exploded for 41 points to open up the new Highmark Stadium in style.

While much could be said about Josh Allen’s impressive performance (over 300 yards of total offense and five touchdowns), the fact of the matter is that he's already established himself as one of the league’s elite performers, making his dominant showing not unexpected. 

What has been somewhat unexpected, however, is how poorly the Lions’ defense has played through the first two weeks of the regular season. Detroit has allowed more than 30 points in each of its games in 2026, and is currently giving up an average of 457.5 yards per contest.

Though the Detroit offense has continued to light up the scoreboard with its impressive talent, the Lions will struggle to reach their ultimate team goals if they don't find a way to turn things around defensively.

Speaking to reporters after the game, veteran linebacker Jack Campbell was asked about the poor performance of the defense to start the season. But rather than blaming coaching or schematics, as many others have, Campbell took ownership of his role in the letdown:

“It starts with me, and I feel like it's on me. I gotta be better. And I ain't got no other thing to do but look in the mirror and be better, so that's really where it starts. Yeah, put it on me. I played terrible. I've gotta be better. Especially for the offense and for all these guys in the locker room.”

Even though we all know Campbell isn't solely responsible for the ills plaguing Detroit’s defense, we can admire that he's stepping up, owning his mistakes, and focusing on making personal corrections moving forward.

As followers of Jesus, we should seek to emulate Campbell’s approach by focusing on ourselves and taking responsibility for our own sins against others.

Forming meaningful relationships with others is vitally important as we seek to grow in our faith. Still, those relationships also come with the inevitable reality that sin will occur and introduce conflict or tension between the two parties. 

In our flesh, we often face the temptation to justify our own sin or downplay its significance by focusing on how the other person has sinned against us.

We may be tempted to think these things:

“I wouldn’t have done what I did if they didn’t sin against me first.”

"I may have sinned a little, but they have sinned against me way more than I have against them."

“I won’t apologize to them because they haven't apologized to me.”

Biblically, it isn't up to the person who commits the "bigger" sin to initiate a conversation about forgiveness, nor is it necessarily up to the person who sinned first.

Rather, each of us is called to take individual responsibility for the wrongs that we have committed. Instead of finding excuses for why it's not up to us to take the first step in reconciling, we should humble ourselves and be willing to take responsibility for the sins we've committed.

In Matthew 5:23-24 (ESV), Jesus said, “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

Notice that the command says that whoever recognizes a problem in the relationship and that reconciliation needs to take place is the one who is supposed to reach out.

Imagine a Christian community where every individual believer was quick to take responsibility for their own sins and to seek forgiveness from those they had wronged. How much better would our relationships be, and how much joy would we experience in our fellowship?

We can't control whether other individuals will confess their sins and seek forgiveness for their actions. We can, however, control whether we take accountability for the sins we've committed. Just like Jack Campbell, we can have the approach,“It starts with me, and I feel like it's on me. I gotta be better.”

Even if our sin was in response to an initial sin committed by someone else, we must not think that constitutes a legitimate excuse for our own sin. The other person didn't cause us to sin. Rather, their actions exposed the sin already present in our hearts.

James 5:16a (NASB) reminds us, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed.”

Today, let's not shift the blame but rather take accountability for our own sins. If we have sinned against another individual, let's take the initiative to reach out and seek forgiveness. May God use those efforts to bring reconciliation and to improve our Christian witness to the world.

I’m Matt Osborne, and you can UNPACK that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you that I can know true reconciliation because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Please forgive me for the sins that I've committed, and help me to humble myself to seek forgiveness from those I've wronged. May You be glorified as reconciliation comes to my relationships. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.