Thursday, November 8, 2012

Hypocrisy

I try to keep in touch with the youth students that I helped minister on Facebook. I was a youth leader for 6 years before this break I'm taking and I met a lot of students in that time. I have also met a lot of youth leaders. I love hearing about how the previous students are doing and it always breaks my heart when they walk away or are having rough times. What I didn't realize is that it also works in the reverse way.

One of the youth students contacted me and was heartbroken because a previous leader no longer believes in God. It broke my heart too.

I mean, think of how much has been invested in these students. Or even as a leader of any group in the church. We have taught them that God prevails and to have faith in Him and that He saves and He is merciful and He is their friend. We have cried at altars with them, led them into worship, prayed healing over them, encouraged them with the Word, prayed in tongues with them, praised God for victories with them... and then what? We wish them well and pray for safe travels and they are gone.

Time goes by and, since no one worries about friends on their Facebook page, they remain on your Friends list. If we are careful and keep relationship with God, they see that. If we walk away from Christ, they see that. If we walk away, we aren't just walking away from God or even the church. We are telling everyone that we have ministered to or prayed with that it was a lie. And once you KNOW Christ is real and have felt His presence and blessings, how do you turn around and say, "I don't believe"?

"This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
who draws strength from mere flesh
and whose heart turns away from the Lord."
- Jeremiah 17:5, New International Version

I'm not saying that you can never step down from ministry. I did and it was to "fill my bucket," for lack of a better term. But walking away from Christ is totally different.

“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
- Joshua 24:15, New International Version  

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