Nice Guys With Good Intentions?
There is no doubt that a lot of errant pastors today have good intentions. Many are trying to do good overall and could be considered to be “nice guys” when it comes to their personality and demeanor. But good intentions can be deceiving, and a lot of congregations let their pastors get away with what amounts to nothing less than spiritual murder because they are convinced that the nice man in the pulpit has good intentions. Regardless, any man, no matter how nice he may seem, and good intentions, no matter how good they may be, are not (and never have been) any kind of license to do evil, let alone a biblical license.
I often give the following hypothetical example to illustrate an important point: Let's imagine a kind-hearted relative or friend (who really loves and cares about you) accidentally consumes LSD and starts hallucinating, and thinks monsters are attacking you. That same well-intentioned person comes at you with a knife to try to “protect” you from the monsters that he or she thinks are attacking you. Your life is suddenly in serious danger. There is little chance that you will not be stabbed and possibly even be killed in the process if you don't do something about this deluded person. Ask yourself this question: Would you just simply stand there and do nothing? Or would you at least get out of the way and take cover? Or, would you just let that person kill you because they had such exemplary good intentions?
No one in there right would do nothing in a situation like this. Yet, from a spiritual perspective, it's the same thing with errant pastors. Those men need to be stopped or avoided regardless of how nice they may be, or how much they may seem to have good motivations.
Errant pastors wield a very large unauthorized spiritual sword that has the power to cut every aspect of an unwitting person's life, even kill them spiritually, emotionally, socially and financially. And some of these men are no doubt extremely “nice guys” from all outward appearances.
But their kind demeanor, sincerity and positive motivation simply doesn't matter when it comes to people suffering at their hands, being harmed and immobilized by their false doctrines and traditions of men. Yet most Christians are totally disarmed by good intentions and so they drop their guards and let churchmen do whatever damage they want all because “they mean well”. I have heard the argument, “but he means well” too many times. My response is:
So what? Stop him (expose him)! Or at least get out of the way (stop attending his church).
I think motivations may have some merit after Christians depart from this earth and stand before the judgement seat of Christ. Jesus, seeing the heart, may be more lenient on those who did wrong yet meant well. Jesus may not withhold certain additional rewards because they were deceived and misguided. Or He may not. Intentions may not count from much in the next life either in cases where grievous wrongs were done. But regardless, here on earth, we cannot be influenced or swayed by nice guys with good intentions and thereby let evil go on unchecked.
I must say that I am continually amazed by the fact that so many professing Christians totally drop their guards as soon as something is labeled spiritual or religious. It is at that moment that they leave their common sense at the door and let just about any kook with a good story pour anything he wants into their belief system. And they buy it ALL - hook, line and sinker. Yet oddly, those very same people almost always exercise good common sense in their everyday dealings with the world and would usually never let even a salesman sell them a far less important thing like a house or a car without first doing their homework. But yet they give pastors free reign to take wild advantage of them and sell them a boatload of not only worthless but damaging things. I marvel.
ChristiansFree.com
There is no doubt that a lot of errant pastors today have good intentions. Many are trying to do good overall and could be considered to be “nice guys” when it comes to their personality and demeanor. But good intentions can be deceiving, and a lot of congregations let their pastors get away with what amounts to nothing less than spiritual murder because they are convinced that the nice man in the pulpit has good intentions. Regardless, any man, no matter how nice he may seem, and good intentions, no matter how good they may be, are not (and never have been) any kind of license to do evil, let alone a biblical license.
I often give the following hypothetical example to illustrate an important point: Let's imagine a kind-hearted relative or friend (who really loves and cares about you) accidentally consumes LSD and starts hallucinating, and thinks monsters are attacking you. That same well-intentioned person comes at you with a knife to try to “protect” you from the monsters that he or she thinks are attacking you. Your life is suddenly in serious danger. There is little chance that you will not be stabbed and possibly even be killed in the process if you don't do something about this deluded person. Ask yourself this question: Would you just simply stand there and do nothing? Or would you at least get out of the way and take cover? Or, would you just let that person kill you because they had such exemplary good intentions?
No one in there right would do nothing in a situation like this. Yet, from a spiritual perspective, it's the same thing with errant pastors. Those men need to be stopped or avoided regardless of how nice they may be, or how much they may seem to have good motivations.
Errant pastors wield a very large unauthorized spiritual sword that has the power to cut every aspect of an unwitting person's life, even kill them spiritually, emotionally, socially and financially. And some of these men are no doubt extremely “nice guys” from all outward appearances.
But their kind demeanor, sincerity and positive motivation simply doesn't matter when it comes to people suffering at their hands, being harmed and immobilized by their false doctrines and traditions of men. Yet most Christians are totally disarmed by good intentions and so they drop their guards and let churchmen do whatever damage they want all because “they mean well”. I have heard the argument, “but he means well” too many times. My response is:
So what? Stop him (expose him)! Or at least get out of the way (stop attending his church).
I think motivations may have some merit after Christians depart from this earth and stand before the judgement seat of Christ. Jesus, seeing the heart, may be more lenient on those who did wrong yet meant well. Jesus may not withhold certain additional rewards because they were deceived and misguided. Or He may not. Intentions may not count from much in the next life either in cases where grievous wrongs were done. But regardless, here on earth, we cannot be influenced or swayed by nice guys with good intentions and thereby let evil go on unchecked.
I must say that I am continually amazed by the fact that so many professing Christians totally drop their guards as soon as something is labeled spiritual or religious. It is at that moment that they leave their common sense at the door and let just about any kook with a good story pour anything he wants into their belief system. And they buy it ALL - hook, line and sinker. Yet oddly, those very same people almost always exercise good common sense in their everyday dealings with the world and would usually never let even a salesman sell them a far less important thing like a house or a car without first doing their homework. But yet they give pastors free reign to take wild advantage of them and sell them a boatload of not only worthless but damaging things. I marvel.
ChristiansFree.com