In this post I want to reflect more on the reality described in 1 Samuel that Saul received the empowering of the Holy Spirit for his kingship – but there was no seeming evidence of God’s transformation of his character. Instead he ended up a bitter man ruled by jealousy seeking the death of the one who was supposed to rule.
The sad reality this reflects is also seen in other lives in Scripture. Think of Samson for example. There are repeated times he is empowered by the Spirit of God, but his life shows no signs of moral transformation. I talked about this briefly in the sermon – but had lots of reflections that came to mind as I did so, that didn’t really fit in a sermon, but might be good to think about.
We might then ask if this is purely an Old Testament phenomena. Doesn’t the promise of God’s Spirit in us mean that if a Christian experiences the power of the Spirit does that mean they won’t act in the same way as a Samson or Saul. While I do think the experience of the Spirit for New Testament believers is a deeper one than in the OT, I think also that we see in the NT that there are those in the early church who experience God’s gifts and power, but don’t let it change their hearts – Ananias and Sapphira for example – and quite possibly a number of the Corinthian church – a church that Paul sees as gifted beyond parallel, yet flawed in so many different areas, including massive moral failures.
The sad reality is that this lack of change in the heart can lead into all sorts of different kinds of sin. Sometimes in ‘obvious’ moral failure, sometimes in hidden character traits that never go uncorrected, and sometimes in outright abuse and corruption of others. In this post I’m not offering answers in how to stop such things, and nor am I offering a practical survival guide. Instead I’m offering some thoughts that give us a way of thinking through surviving in such a world.
It is easy to see all kinds of problems with high profile gifted leaders in our world today. Just off the top of my head I can list any number of high profile moral failures and abusive figures who have been respected church leaders or thinkers.
Among those who seek to sit under the authority of the Bible:
The gifted preacher who left his wife for a relationship with a man
The apologist who turned out to be using his position and travels for self gratifying encounters with women
The creative church planter, impeccable in theology, reminding us of the relational elements in church life, who turned out to be bullying and overbearing
The leader of a large church, influential in his network, with powerful friends, whose leadership was based around fear, and had a strange physical element to it – and his ministry was part of a larger issue with a ‘culture of fear’
The lawyer who spoken for “Christian values” in society, but beat boys and young men in his shed, and went on to carry his abusive behaviour in an African country after those associated with his ministry covered up the violence.
There are those connected with wider streams of Christian thought – Neo-orthodox, peace churches in the Anabaptist tradition, Anglo-Catholic and Roman Catholic:
One of the most influential theologians of the 20th century who it seems had a long standing affair with his secretary and helper
The theologian of ‘peace’ whose relationships with some women were utterly abusive
The monk like figure whose deep spirituality won respect from those in high places yet used his position to ruin young lives.
The priest who founded a organisation to help the disabled abusing women who trusted him
The list goes on, and on, and on… If we widened the search through church history we would see time again this link of extraordinary giftedness – and yet utter immorality (at best) and violent abuse (at worse). When I was young I thought this issue was because of wrong theology. That if the theology was corrected the behaviour would be. Then the first thing on that list above happened. The list above includes people from every section of the church. No theology protects against immorality and abuse.
Not only that, but experiences of God’s power at work do not mean the person empowered becomes holy or godly. All the people in that list have made vital contributions to the work of the church over the years. People enormously helped by their ministries. And yet they have a dark side. A very dark side. What is God doing? In many cases it seems that his giftedness and empowering has just given them more scope to sin.
There are no easy answers to that on a large scale – but I think the answers must have something to do with the way in which God does not override our personalities, but works with us, giving us freedom and wanting us to respond to him in that freedom. Given that freedom, the failure, sin and abuse of leaders is a opportunity for us to examine our hearts to see where we are vulnerable to sin, and where we are complicit in allowing wrongdoing to take place – the problem with a number of the abusive situations we can think of is not simply the wrongdoer themselves, but those around the wrongdoer who by silence and passivity allow abuse to continue.
That is why the Bible abounds with warnings to not let our hearts become hard, and to allow God to transform us by his Spirit as well as to empower us. Saul in the Bible was empowered by God, but he did not allow God to transform him. He remained fearful throughout his life. When confronted by God’s warnings he made excuses for his wrong.
The Bible also gives us examples of how to respond to leaders who act like this. Jonathan in the story of David, Jonathan and Saul, speaks to confront his father and protect David. He doesn’t like the reality of what his father has become, but neither does he shrink away from the reality. He doesn’t shrug it off as a “that’s just his way”. He deals with it.
Later in the story other characters give us examples of how not to deal with things. David hears of the rape of Tamar his daughter, by his son Anmon and does nothing. Absalom hears and does nothing immediately, but plots and executes revenge. There are characters in the story whose actions we never quite know the motives of – we never learn whether Ziba or Mephibosheth is telling the truth when David has to flee the city and then comes back.
The murky stories of the Bible reflect the sort of world we live in and are called to be faithful disciples in. The reality is that great gifting and powerful demonstrations of the Spirit’s work through an individual guarantee nothing about that person’s standing before God and trustworthiness.
The Bible contains many different examples of this sort of story and every situation is different. Each situation needs to be evaluated in its merits. As we read Saul’s story sometimes his behaviour can function as a warning to us not to grow cold to the Spirit’s voice lest we fall into some kind of self indulgence. At other times his example and the story of his life gives us a warning to us not to be silent in situations where we see others misusing power and abusing others.
Sometimes we can speak like Jonathan, and later Nathan, truth to power. Sometimes we might have just to run and get ourselves out as David did from Saul. Sometimes we might find something in a situation that tempts us to behave in a similar way. If so we need to be honest and find a trusted friend or counselor to help us deal with it, and ensure that we don’t fall into immorality or walk into patterns of abuse.
The sheer variety of wrong situations, and different patterns of wrong behaviour involved should give us pause when we find one of these situations coming close to us. The fundamental thing we need to remember from so many of these stories is that giftedness does not lead to character – in us, or in others.
So don’t be deceived by the ability of a leader into thinking that they must be doing God’s will. Don’t be deceived by ability in your own life, or success in ministry into thinking you must be doing God’s will. Do the hard work of seeking God’s ways, and seeking his character. Don’t break the trust of others, don’t look down on others, but show real love that is willing to give of ourselves to see others grow. Love that, with Jonathan in Saul and David’s story, is willing to give up first place for God’s purposes.
Jude is an often overlooked letter, but I think his final verses have real wisdom for us here:
17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18 They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” 19 These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.
jude 17-23
20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
The scoffers remind us of those who are open about changing the teaching of our churches away from the Bible to something more appealing to our own self indulgence. The answer to that is to build ourselves up in the faith, to pray in the Holy Spirit and to keep ourselves in God’s love as we wait for Christ’s final mercy to us.
Then comes the instructions on how to help others. To be merciful to those who doubt. In this age, with the list I gave earlier of leaders who have walked away or been abusive, it is easy to doubt God’s goodness. We need to help others and show mercy. Others need to be snatched away from fire, out of difficult situations, and given safe places. Others need our mercy and help – but also our caution. It may be we are helping someone, but recognise the pull of a temptation as we do. That the very act of helping leads to a desire that could be wrong – is that to take advantage of a vulnerable person? Is it to join them in some activity, perhaps that we once enjoyed ourselves? Is it to form some kind of alliance in reaction against an evil where we become just like what we have reacted against? Jude isn’t necessarily thinking of all these things – but I think his questions can lead us to legitimately ask more.
We began with Saul, and it is worth reading 1 Samuel to see his tragic tale told. To reflect on the disintegration of the personality that fears people so deeply and refuses to repent. To reflect on the personality that leads to seeking destruction and ruin for those he is jealous of. To make sure that we are not taking the first steps on the way to such behaviours. To make sure that we are helping those who are the victim of such behaviours. To make sure that we are not enabling such behaviours.
In the end of all of these thoughts lead us back to the end of Jude’s letter. Our only hope in life and death is that we belong to Christ, and our only hope to avoid shipwrecking our lives is Christ.
24 To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
Jude 24-25
Joshua's Tree Rooted 