Unleader by Overstreet Jane;

Author:Overstreet, Jane; [Overstreet, Jane]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: InterVarsity Press

QUESTION 3:

Do I Put My Interests

before God’s Interests?

In the 1980s in the United States there were several high-profile Christian leaders who fell into horrific sin. Although sexual immorality was involved, the majority of the messes they created involved money and power, corruption and greed over a long period of time. Of course this was not the first time this had happened in history, but, maybe because of the advent of more media coverage, these became major news stories.

At the time I was serving as the lawyer for a number of other high-profile Christian leaders and their ministries, wonderful men and women of God whom it was a privilege to serve. I wanted to understand how leaders in Christian ministry could end up in such a mess. How did they get there? Were there signs I should be looking for to help protect my clients from failing? I was one of the few people who understood all of their business dealings, and I wanted to be sure that I did not become complicit in failure.

As I read the coverage of these men who had once been such powerful forces for the gospel, a theme became very evident. These leaders had convinced themselves that the end justified the means.

Their failures began by trying to relieve financial pressures with small decisions that were not quite right. Then they covered up those decisions with other bad decisions “for the sake of the ministry.” Small decisions became downward spirals of ongoing fraud, theft, and every form of corrupt business practice, which they justified by thinking it was more important to keep their ministries going.

This pattern of sin that uses God-given position and power to promote personal interests and reputation while disregarding God’s law is something that God truly despises. Of course we know that God hates all sin, yet he is quick to forgive and forget our sins when we sincerely repent. God loves redemption. It is his specialty.

So let us look carefully at the failures of both Saul and David. From God’s reaction to each we can learn a great deal. What did God see in each of their hearts? Why did he find Saul’s sin so repulsive, and why did he forgive and restore David so completely? It is critical that we try to understand this and then try to learn from the lives of these two kings of Israel, appointed by God, anointed by God, and equipped by God.

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