I read a lot of things that bless my heart and some things that break my heart. I just finished reading an article that did the latter–another case of a fallen preacher, the pastor of one of the largest churches in the world, an independent Baptist church. He was dismissed by the church “due to a sin that has caused him to forfeit his right to be—pastor”. We now know what that sin was, but I am not going to mention it or his name. But I do want to say something that might bring some good out of this tragedy.
As I read the sad story, I couldn’t help but think about all the people who have been and will be affected by this man’s sin. Thousands upon thousands have been hurt, a marriage might be destroyed, a church and a college have been crippled because of it, and Christianity as a whole has been given another black-eye. The enemies of Christ are having a field day with it, as you would expect.
Sin would be bad enough if no one but the guilty party was hurt by it, but that’s never the case. When we sin we always hurt others. We grieve God and, in some way hurt others. We need to think about that the next time we’re tempted to yield to some temptation. Here’s something else we ought to remember. In nearly every instance you can see it coming. For example, when the Bible says, “Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall”(Proverbs 16:18) and you observe pride in a person, you can predict what lies ahead. You might not know what the nature of the sin will be, but it’s just a matter of time until his pride takes him into sin, sin that brings about a fall and destruction.
Not only is that true in regards to others, it is true of us as well. It is for that reason that we should be constantly examining ourselves, ever looking for the tale-tell signs of sin. And since pride is in some way associated with every sin, we should be especially on guard against it. By the way–one of the first signs of pride is the attitude that says, “I would never do that!”. Those who think like that are in grave danger (1 Cor. 10:12). Assuming you are better, smarter, or stronger than others is a fool’s game, an indicator that you are on dangerous ground. What happened to others could happen to you, or me.
Having been in that church and familiar with it for over 40 years, and familiar with the man involved, I knew in my heart that things would not end well. I could see it coming and it did— now if I can only be as careful in examining myself, and guarding my own heart, by the grace of God I can avoid the failure in my life. It is to that end that I pray. Think about it!
