Have you ever heard that lying is like building a house? The logic behind this story is as follows: You begin out by laying the foundation by telling the basic lie. Then you build upon that lie by telling another one to cover up the foundational lie. After that you have completed the walling of the house. Well, then you have begun laying the flooring and even started to do some carpet work. Pretty soon the house is fully complete, but with one swift swig of the wrecking ball of truth the house is left in total destruction.
This story really can be given to the idea of rebellion. We understand that in God’s eye, sin is sin. There are no little sins but at the same time, sin does grow and goes through a process. It begins as a thought, then matures into something that is deep and has lasting consequences. For example, Eve was first attacked on the grounds of thinking about the fruit. Then it moved on to desiring the fruit. After that happened the action was taken by Eve to eat. But the consequences of those actions didn’t completely affect the human race until Adam took of the fruit. And as we all know, that lasting consequences was that mankind was separated from God through sin.
As I think about the idea of rebellion, my mind is flooded with the thoughts of men in our churches and the men in the pulpit of those churches. The actions of the men have deep, lasting influence upon the women and children of church. Men will not tell you but they struggle with insecurity in a very big way. We may be in the place that God has called us to, but for some reason or another we will begin to doubt God. We begin to doubt His calling, His presence and most of all His ability to equip us for the task. Then as Satan has been able to get his foothold into our lives, we find ourselves heading down a very steep and slippery slope. Some men are able to stop, but others it’s another story.
That steep and slippery slope comes in all kinds of different forms. For some it is, money. The lust and lure of money pull men from the ministry into a job where there is only temporary satisfaction. For others it is, sex. The sexual drive of men have created some of the most devastating displays of consequences of sin that we have seen. And a little note here is necessary. – the two above forms seem to go hand in hand. Money and sex seem to be like two peas in a pod. In the fall of a Christian minister, money and sex seem to come into play. The money say, “Look at all that I have and can get.” Sex says, “Look at what I can do and get away with .” Money and sex are not bad when used and done in God‘s way, but when both are placed in arenas of no accountability or respect, they will destroy a man, a ministry, a church but also a wife and children.
The very sad thing about all this is that it all starts out with just a simple thought. The thought begins out with doubting the ability to accomplish a task for God. That thought then moves into weakening our spiritual sensitivity to sin. The spiritual sensitivity is replaced with a desire to get as close to sin as possible without getting burned. But then that develops into something that creates a mindset of continually getting closer and closer until finally you give in. You give in over and over and over without getting caught. The feeling of possibly getting caught becomes an addiction and even arrogance on the part of the individual that says that I am above all this and I can’t get caught. But than the day of reckoning occurs and left in the pathway of the wrenching ball of truth is a broken man, ministry, church, but also a family!
Men of our churches and the men that are pastors, please don’t go down the steep, slippery slope. Our children are crying out for men that need you. They need a real man in their life that will not be given over to the power of money and the addiction of sex. They need real men that will show them how to control money and not allow money to control them. They need real men that will be sexually pure with one woman that is their wife and not be sexually promiscuous with every woman that bats her eye lashes at him.
Have these men left our churches? I don’t believe so. I believe that God has them out there. So men its time to step up to the plate and knock it out of the park. Its our time to raise up and be counted. We are the men called unto integrity, righteousness and holiness.
But we can’t do it alone. This is a call to true brotherhood. What do you say, brother – Are you ready to turn our backs on rebellion and turn our faces to righteousness? Will you join me?
