“Stop trusting in mere humans, who have but a breath in their nostrils. Why hold them in esteem?”
Isaiah 2:22
When faced with the struggles and trials of this world, who do you turn to? Do you trust in other humans for answers to human problems? Do you cling to the claims of leaders either in the world or the church or Christian organizations to solve things that seem too hard to solve? Even believers in Jesus can find themselves trusting more in humans that they do in Jesus. Jesus Himself told us:
“For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.”
Luke 16:8
Perhaps sometimes we are just too trusting.
On the other hand, no one wants to be skeptical all of the time. Not everyone has ulterior motives. There are manipulative people out there who purposely cause us pain, but that’s not true of everyone. It was said of Jesus:
“But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.” John 2:24-25
What rocks me most is when someone in my personal circle breaks the trust I had in them. Trust once lost is hard to regain, yes? Not impossible. Just hard.
But there is another kind of betrayal that I’ve witnessed far too often in my lifetime. It’s one of the worst kinds because as God told David when he sinned with Bathsheba and had Uriah (her husband) killed that David would suffer for his actions because he had by those actions caused the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme (show utter contempt for) His Name.
This man of God betrayed God’s trust and committed some pretty grievous sins. It wasn’t just a personal sin against God or Bathsheba or Uriah. David’s sin affected thousands of people who honored David as king, who followed him, who supported him, who perhaps even revered him. People looked to David and they held him in high esteem. And he betrayed their trust.
Some behaviors, like David’s, need to be called out and reconciled with Scriptural truth. Sins that are sexual in nature and sins that abuse others by bullying them. Randy Alcorn, on his blog, Eternal Perspectives Ministries, has an excellent article on this subject involving our spiritual leaders. Read it here.
We do the victims a disservice when we do not hold these leaders accountable for such sins. Too often these leaders quietly slip away and start another organization or become a pastor or leader in another church that doesn’t know of their past. Their new church fails to do adequate background checks. And more people become subject to the abuser’s abuse.
When confronted, David immediately repented of his sin, and God forgave him. But God did not remove the consequences. David not only lost his infant son and three older sons later in his life, he lost the trust of some of his closest advisors because of his actions. Believing leaders are held to a high standard. Repentance should bring forgiveness, but that doesn’t mean they should be restored to the position they violated.
Christian leaders at any level have to guard against pride and selfishness and sin, including sexual sin and bullying those under their authority.
Unfortunately, not everyone in Christian circles or even leaders in our churches actually know the Lord. God alone knows the heart. But we need to be wise and discerning in whatever we hear, especially in our day of social media, AI, false information, and our tendency to seek help from people rather than God.
Our failures in Christian circles to keep the name of God holy and to live lives that reflect His character has led many in our world to leave the faith. To blaspheme His Name.
May we humble ourselves and pray lest we be led into temptation to sins that cause people to look at us and decide that Jesus cannot be trusted. We are His representatives on earth, and those in leadership are the most visible.
For a Christian to stray from Him, denies who Jesus really is. He came to call sinners to repentance and to believe in and trust in Him so that they might live with Him eternally. This is great news! He satisfied His Father’s wrath against all sin. For us. Every person deserves the chance to understand that. How can they believe without a preacher? But why should they believe if the preacher lives no differently than the world?
If we say we know Him, we need to live as He did, and not for ourselves.
~Selah
