The Gift Of Ridicule

Ridicule of church leaders is like a virus that spreads if we do not control it.   ~~~   Do you find it easier to ridicule church leaders versus praying for them? When we ridicule others, the real goal is to make ourselves look smarter, braver, wiser, better. Ridicule offers no help, no concern, no compassion, no burden bearing. Ridicule does nothing to move the church forward. It only seeks to derail others while propping yourself up. And ridicule is like a virus that spreads. One person opens up the way to nit-pick and find fault, so others think they have the same right to do the same thing. In 1 Samuel 10 we read where Saul has just been designated as king of Israel, to which a few men quip, “How can this man save us?” They are actually described as worthless fellows. What makes what these worthless men were doing and saying so bad is not so much that they were doing it against Saul the man, but against the one God had just designated as King. We will see in a few chapters, that when David is anointed as king, while Saul is still king, that David never raises his hand against Saul, even when he had the easy chance to do so. This is about recognizing what God is doing, and not trying to undo it in underhanded ways. Threats from within are constant. The threat and reality of division is constant. There were those who looked at Jesus and said, “How can he save us?” And there will be those within the church who look at the church and say, “How in the world can she be effective in the culture?” They will look at the pastors and say, “How can they lead us?” That temptation will be there, for sure, because I am a man of many faults. If you think I am bad, can I tell you that you do not know the half of it. I am far worse than you can imagine. And the real answer to the question is “I cannot lead you.” But there is a solution to that very problem. It is the Spirit of God leading me and leading you.