 |
Most of us have heard at least one story of a prominent preacher who cheated his or her congregation out of thousands, sometimes millions of dollars. Many are also aware of sexual abuse caused by those who claim to speak on God's behalf.
🔊
There are plenty legitimate accounts where ministers have violated individuals as well as entire groups. Preachers who have spoken in judgment against specific behaviors or lifestyles have, themselves, been found to be participants of the same activities. Church organizations have been audited due to complaints of misappropriation of funds (stealing). Countless charges of various forms of misconduct have been proven against many so-called "members of the cloth", yet people keep supporting the same leaders and their associations.
2 Peter 2:3
And through covetousness
shall they
with feigned words
make merchandise of you...
What's there to say
when it's been said so many times
and so many ways?
When people have been warned
and urged to pay attention,
yet, as if sleep walking,
they just keep going,
what can anyone do?!
If you were to see a visually impaired man headed straight into traffic, and you tried to warn him... you begged him to stop. You gave him all the reasons what he was doing was dangerous, but he pushed you away and kept going, how could you have helped him? What could anyone do to prevent him from the disaster he seemed determined to bring on himself?
There are preachers, teachers, and various titled leaders who twist and jumble words of Scripture so skillfully. They prey upon the greed and emotions of others so proficiently but, despite all warnings, they are eventually caught like mice in the very traps they have set for others.
WHAT they DO, WHY, & HOW:
2 Peter 2:3
💥 They use"feigned words".
[feign: pretended, invented, sham]
💥 Their purpose is "covetousness".
[covet: greed; lust]
💥 They "make merchandise of you".
[You become their product. You are the way they make money. In fact, you are like their money.]
How sad it is that so many who financially support churches are getting bamboozled. On the other hand, maybe it's not quite so sad. Perhaps it's their price for willfully rebelling against warnings from Scripture and from God's true messengers (who, by the way, never demand money).
One day these blind supporters of blind leaders (Matt. 15:14), may be in need of money. When they turn to their beloved religious organizations, what will happen? Will they, like so many, discover the reality that they are set to be givers only and never receivers?
THEN will they learn?
One of the main reasons religious scams are so effective and widespread is that there is a great need for community.
Anywhere the family (or village) is absent or is shattered or is destructive to maturing minds, regardless to age, victims of such circumstances often turn to religious organizations. They do so believing they will find respite and are pursuing God. If for no other reason, many severely crave to be loved and they seek that love in places which proclaim, "God is love".
Unfortunately, many will not let go even after they witness the harm done in the relationship with "their church"--not God. Similar to a union of an abused person with the abuser, excuses are made and defenses are presented even while the overwhelming evidence is clear.
👀
There are always justifications for the psychological cuts, bumps, scars, and broken limbs:
✔"Those accusations against my pastor are not true..."
✔He has confessed so God forgives him..."
✔"Only God can judge..."
✔"Touch not God's anointed..."
✔"The man of God SHOULD have the finer things..."
✔"Whoever is without sin may cast the first stone..."
✔"That girl tempted him. It's not his fault..."
✔"Holy people don't have to follow the same rules as the rest of us..."
Protection and support for the perpetrator is plentiful, but as long as the villain is present, and willing to manipulate, the victim will seldom let go.
It's an addiction. Rather than being chemical, it's a mental/spiritual addiction. And as with any "jones" (a habitual urge), often people must hit "bottom" (to become completely helpless) before they are able to recognize there is a serious problem. Often before some want to do better for themselves and "get the monkey off their backs", or become free from the addiction, they must first crash.
What will be that bottom experience for those who are lovers of church buildings, pastors, amulets, promises of wealth and personal pleasures based on how much you give? What's that "wake-up call" for those who are lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God (2 Timothy 3:15)?
Meanwhile, the CON continues.
MORE from Search the Scriptures: