Into the Fire

“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to thousands who love me and keep my commandments.” Exodus 20:3-6 NIV

No mistaking how God feels about idolatry. In light of giving his own Son to free us from the snares of this sin and all others, why do we doubt how he feels about it (them)?

This is touchy, but I’m going to write it anyway. In recent years I have seen the idolatry of certain people overwhelm its recipients. Let’s be honest here. Who doesn’t enjoy, appreciate, NEED, some praise? Some more than others. And is there anything wrong with encouragement, respect, appreciation, heartfelt compliments?

We’ve all seen the negative results of idolatry to those in sports, entertainment, politics, etc., have we not? But how about the pulpit?

How often have you been instructed on how to respect, love, appreciate, prayerfully support, financially gift, honor, and praise your pastor? On the other hand, some congregations are brutal assassins of their leader(s), full of criticism, disagreement, and eventually plotting the demise of a pastor or two.

I have to wonder which of the two is the most devastating. My guess is the first situation is far more destructive. The second is potentially life-changing in that a servant of the Lord can, will, and must experience persecution at some level to identify with the sufferings of Christ. If the congregation is lethal and their gripes and complaints occur because of the target (strategically placed there by the enemy of our souls) on the office of the pastor as a humble servant of the Lord , ultimately, the work in the pastor will be completed by the Lord and vindication and vengeance, if necessary, will be accomplished by the Savior as well. If the pastor survives the assault and weathers the stormy barrage, he will be a better man and certainly a better Christian for it. If he does not, God will still have a place for Him if he is willing to go there with the Lord.

Having personally viewed the adoration of a young pastor by a congregation twice in my lifetime, I would say this is far more destructive to the man as a man, a leader, a pastor, and the Christianity of the individual. I watched one humble young pastor, the local darling of a his clique-y community, “grow” to become a man who no longer saw his errors in judgment, accelerated his controlling weaknesses, began to teach a few non-salvation-threatening areas according to his opinion of them rather than on their biblical interpretations, and slowly slip into molding the church into what accomodated his family’s needs. He had it all. Whenever a concern or a difference was expressed, there was a sermon on unity. He was granted sabbaticals, multiple vacations, high raises, and total power because he “needed” them or “deserved” them. He was an attractive, charismatic man, and his wife was beautiful with a voice like Whitney Houston’s. She overcame some serious health trials and triumphed. It took him longer to recover from the results, but he did. Now out of the blue to the congregation, after 8 years in the ministry, he left the church. The truth is it was overdue.

The point of this is if you or I idolize anyone, we are substituting our allegiance from the supernatural to the natural. No one is worth placing on the pedestal of this world. The only One who is worthy of true adoration is God. Why would anyone who has accepted that God is who He says He is settle for anything less? Why, when we have to deal with our own hearts on a daily basis–seeing, experiencing, and hating our own weaknesses and propensity toward sin–why, oh why, do we insist on setting PEOPLE up in a place they can never attain: the throne of life. People are tainted. They will irrevocably fail at some point. It’s who we are. How can we expect any one person to supply what can only be attained in the supernatural realm?

Fulfillment can only come from total allegiance to our Lord. That allegiance is plied and manipulated by the enemy daily. If we are faithfully serving the Lord, adhering to the faith as best we can according to what God has established in us and for us, we have a target on our chests, our heads, and our backs. We are arch enemies of the evil ones. And we do have a battle on our hands for our very souls. However, the ammo is free, although often weighty, and it works with due diligence to learning how to fire it.

So, in light of how much we all have an affinity for praise, encouragement, respect, and, yes, often adoration, shouldn’t we remember that pastors and leaders in Christianity are mere men? That, yes, they need to be encouraged, praised, and respected but NEVER adored?! They need to be prayed for, but so do we. See them for who they are. Support them as they support the Lord Jesus Christ. Warn them by speaking the truth in love if the Holy Spirit puts it on your heart to do so. But don’t ever let them become to you what they can never be: a god.

Father, let me never seek man’s adoration, but rather only your love and forgiveness for my desires to be adored and praised. Any good in me is because of you. Any right thing I do or write is because you were able to penetrate the hardness of my heart and get it done. Thank you for the amazing fact that you actually use people . . . such a wretch as me. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.