After being under a patriarchy ministry for 15 years, I had come to the place where I felt so utterly unworthy to even be alive. The legalism that constantly pointed out sin in us and the world around us got to be too much to live under…I was dying inside. For me to be able to live through a sermon, I had to ignore it and doodle or make shopping lists, sometimes I was busy scribbling down verse of uplifting passages to myself. If we sat a child down and told them how awful they were and pointed out everything they were doing wrong, that child’s thirst to live would be parched. In some states, it would be considered mental and emotional abuse on a child. So why do adults put themselves under such horrific discouraging teachings?
Some people have such a twisted sense of God’s justice, it makes me ill. I can’t fathom ever sitting through another ‘semon’ where I’m yelled at, demeaned, belittled, and told God hates me. He’s the one who allowed sin to enter the world as it is, let alone now hate us for something He allowed in the first place?
Imagine for a moment that I set out an open dish of Hershey’s Kisses on the table in front of a 2 year old child. Now I’ll tell the child that she can eat anything in the kitchen she wants, just not these chocolates. I step out of their view and watch her eat 3 kisses and hide the wrappers. I watched the child do this. I did not stop the child. It’s a total set up, a test. Now I enter the room again and yell at the child that she’s a stupid little sheep and full of awful sin for her choices. Now lets say my husband enters the room and says he’ll pay the penalty for our daughter’s choice. Now, I accept the father’s payment as “paid in full” so the girl is not held responsible for her choice. Now, for the next 18 years, I’ll continue to belittle the child, tell her how awful she is, tell her I HATE her choice back then when she was 2.
Sounds like an unforgiving parent to me. Afterall, the father paid her debt.
Didn’t he?
This is the kind of Christianity that seems to be sweeping the nation…and leaving a trail of wounded people bleeding on the road side and gasping for breath.
We don’t have to listen to this kind of unforgiving hatred being perpetrated by these so called pastors.
The apostle Paul said “let each man be convinced in his OWN MIND.”
Do we really think God is holding our sin against us when Jesus already paid for it?
We either believe Jesus paid it all or we don’t.
Are we using his name in vain, claiming him to be Savior, but denying the power thereof?
Remember what God said to Adam and Eve? “Who told you that you were naked?”
It’s the adversary that stands at the gates accusing the brethren.
It’s one thing to confront someone who has stolen from you, it’s quite another thing to attempt to accuse people of ‘sin’ when they already have their sin covered.
There’s a HUGE difference between approaching a friend, in love, to help them in an area that is harming themselves or their loved ones…and telling Christians that God hates their sin. If a person claims Christ as Savior, then they believe Jesus is covering their sin…..which means the person standing in accusation of them is an unbeliever. I don’t care if the person claims to be a Christian or has a title of “pastor”. I don’t care if he’s written a bazillion books of commentary on the bible. It’s a very bold and ignorant person who tells a blood-washed child of God that Jesus isn’t actually covering their sin.
We can be corrective with people we love when it’s necessary and when we have discernment that the timing is right. But to use a blanket statement of “God hates you” or “God hates your sin” is loaded language. This kind of verbal assault is not meant to lift you up into his heavenly throne to be embraced with his grace. It’s the kind of language that slaughters a person in the very sight of Jesus Christ. Do we forget so quickly that it’s the kindness of God that leads people to change their minds about him?
So the next time you see a video, read a book or blog, or sit through a church service that belittles you and makes you feel awful for something you can’t do anything about…walk away and don’t believe what they’re saying.
{photo credit Laura Geese}
Because Jesus already has you covered. I pray we’ll all believe this and be free from this condemnation coming from the ‘men of the cloth’.
