God doesn’t want our past hurt to keep us from supporting ministries in the future, those who truly are spreading the gospel and reaching people for Jesus Christ.
Many of us have been shocked, discouraged, disappointed, and grieved by some of the moral failures coming to light in multiple ministries, Christian leaders, and ministry families, not only falling short before God but also letting believers down in big, crashing ways.
Apparently, these leaders and ministries didn’t believe what Jesus told us in Luke 8:17 and are finding out the hard way, “For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.”
Tragically, scandalous revelation leads some Christians who believed in the leaders and their ministry to a serious faith crisis, questioning everything they believed to be true about God and ministry, stumbling over men and women’s failings rather than looking to God’s faithfulness.
To some individuals, these falls are like losing family, feeling heartbroken, lied to, stolen from, and betrayed, losing all trust they once had in the ministries and leaders, and feeling purposely deceived, tricked, and misled.
Others experience feelings of regret, remorse, and even shame that they didn’t see the signs or recognize there were issues with the leaders and ministries but continued to give generously to support them, believing they were spreading God’s Word, only to discover they were hiding illicit relationships and lavish lifestyles.
Meanwhile, some supporters feel embarrassed at the falls from glory taking place with their particular spiritual leaders, more concerned about themselves and how it makes them look for following them rather than the truth being uncovered and revealed.
Jesus Warned Us
Sadly, church leaders with wrong motives and worldly appetites have existed for centuries. Jesus warned, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves” (Matthew 7:15).
He warned of how deceptive leaders bring corruption to their followers, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are” (Matthew 23:15).
Likewise Matthew 24:24 says, “For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”
As well, 2 Peter 2:1 describes, “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.”
Another warning in Jude 1:4 describes, “For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord”
What About the Support We Gave?
How do we reconcile supporting leaders and ministers with prayers and finances who are now revealed as immoral, dishonest, or corrupt, feeling like we were naïve, deceived, oblivious, and unaware of what was really taking place?
Jesus gives us insight into how God looks at our giving, looking at our hearts and motives. Mark 12:43-44, describes, “Calling His disciples to Him, Jesus said, 'Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.’”
As the widow, God looks at our hearts, and if our hearts were set on giving to Him, even if our gifts were unknowingly given to untrustworthy, deceptive, maybe even false prophets, God received our gift unto Himself.
Remember, God Looks at Our Hearts
Although Jesus praised the widow for her gift, He had the following harsh words for the Jewish leaders receiving her money:
“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation”(Matthew 23:14).
Likewise, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence” (Matthew 23:25).
Also, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean” (Matthew 23:27).
As well, we want to examine our hearts and look at why we give to ministries to ensure our motives are for the right reason and not for our personal gain or recognition. If we find a hidden motive, we are to repent and ask God to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, knowing He looks at our hearts behind our giving.
Like 2 Corinthians 13:5 urges, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?”
7 Steps to Renewing Our Faith
Jesus warned, “Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!” (Matthew 18:7).
So if a leader or ministry’s scandal really tripped us up, the following are seven steps to renewing our faith:
1. Ask God to lead us. If we were misled by a leader or ministry, we need God’s wisdom to lead us in who we support. James 1:5 instructs, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”
2. Recognize we can be deceived. 1 John 4:1-3 provides directives to help us keep from being led astray:
“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.”
3. Take notice of red flags the Lord brings to our attention. If something seems off or doesn’t hit us as the truth in a ministry, rather than brush it aside, consider what the Holy Spirit may be trying to show us. As much as possible, research and check out concerns with Scripture, asking God to lead and reveal His truth.
2 Timothy 4:3-4 describes, “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”
4. Rely on God’s Word to stay on track. Hebrews 4:12 reminds us, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
Likewise, 2 Timothy 2:15 encourages, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”
5. Pray fallen leaders and ministries repent for their sins and receive God’s forgiveness. Hebrews 13:17 reveals how the leaders over us are held accountable for their actions, and it’s important for their sins to be revealed so that other leaders will be warned, as 1 Timothy 5:20 explains, “But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning.”
6. Pray for followers of the ministries to stand firm in their faith and not lose hope. Jesus warned in Matthew 18:6, “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”
7. Keep supporting ministries. No one who truly loves and wants to serve God with their whole heart wants to discover they’ve been deceived and misled in whom they’ve been supporting with their prayers and financial giving.
Still, God doesn’t want our past hurt to keep us from supporting ministries in the future, those who truly are spreading the gospel and reaching people for Jesus Christ. Luke 6:38 encourages, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Photo Credit: ©Pexels/Daniel Reche
