When we follow a man and not God...

I don't usually write about, nor post on FB or Twitter on controversial subjects.  Believe me I often want to!  I have waited awhile to see if the "urge" would pass, but last night got the best of me.  I'm also not real worried, as most people don't read my posts! Lol

We don't expect horrible things to happen in our neatly packed thinking, churches and organizations.  But they do....and when they do, we often respond with such surprise, denial and even anger ... Often anger at the wrong things or people.  I, like a lot of people, have been reading about the sexual abuse and inappropriate behavior that has taken place in such organizations (ABWE, New Tribes, Bill Gothard, BJU, etc).  What has shocked me the most is the denial that such "good people" would do such horrific things.  Not just the denial, but the outrage at those bringing the allegations, as if somehow THEY are the ones who did something wrong.  The ignorance in comments about how all the good these people and organizations have done will be somehow be ruined when "it comes out", or how it will ruin the perpetrator, or how God's work will stop, is unreal to me ...

All of these kinds of responses, I believe, is a result of blind, singleminded devotion, loyalty and following of a person and/or organization.....instead of solely on Jesus.  Don't get me wrong, I believe in and am loyal to people and organizations.  But when we do it so blindly that we deny sin that is so blatantly starring us in the face, then something is out of wack.  I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about loyalty and what that looks like or what it should look like.  I don't have all the answers, but I do know what it should not look like.  All of us are in danger of allowing satan to get a stronghold in our lives and in the lives of those we respect.  We can't be blind to that.

It's time to get our heads out of the sand...it HAS happened and because we still live in a sinful world, it is STILL happening.  Abuse of all kinds is horrible and most people don't want to believe that Christians are involved in it, that somehow it's a sin that we are immune to.  It's not.

By the way, God's work doesn't stop because we sin.  If he did, then nothing spiritual would ever happen, because we all sin.  God doesn't need us to protect his name.  We do enough to hurt it.

On a positive note!  God forgives and redeems! He chooses to use me/us to do HIS work and that is a huge responsibility.  He forgives me everyday when I sin, whether it's selfishness, pride, etc.  but there  are also consequences to sin.  I'll leave it there ...