Danger 2: Forget the Church…I have been hurt too many times! Click here for part 1.

Ask anyone who has had a negative experience with churches and you are bound to hear words such as deception, betrayal, abuse, and mind control, just to name a few. Negative experiences with churches are generally “very, very” painful. You want the full spectrum of pain suffering? Yes, churches have you covered nowadays! Spiritual, emotional, financial, physical…check! These pains are among the most destructive and the most difficult to overcome. But why are churches today so adept at inflicting such pains? Paul in the passage below exposed fully the spiritual reality and aspirations leading to such experiences.

Acts 20:29 – I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.
The apostle Paul was warning the “true” church leaders about false teachers who will penetrate the church and cause chaos and destruction among the children of God. Those false teachers are called “savage wolves” in order to highlight the degree of destruction they will cause, and the ruthless cruelty with which they will carry their tasks.
But look, Paul does not even stop there. In verse 30 He tells that some among the very leaders he was speaking to will destroy people’s lives in order to achieve selfish gains. He is speaking of people who start well, but end up working for the devil. Everyone wanting to have their own little flock! Just look at the number of churches today, and it seems like Paul was quite right on this one!

Acts 20:30 – Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.
Many so-called church leaders today are exactly those “savage wolves” who do not spare members of their congregations, by deceiving, betraying and abusing them in every kind of way possible. Many so-called church leaders willfully and knowingly distort the truth of God for personal gains, at the detriment and hurt of God’s children. But where does the danger to our spiritual lives really lie? The danger is in our reactions to those experiences! Savage wolves will continue to be around. And precisely, it is this fact that makes our responses all the more important.

“I want nothing to do with churches anymore!” is something you may expect to hear from those who do break free from such abuses. And anyone would certainly understand why. However, the danger is that among those individuals, some end up actually quitting on God Himself, rather than quitting only on those who have hurt them. Yes, there are savage wolves around. But God still protect His Children.  Ask God, and ask again! He will deliver you.

Psalms 34:7 – The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.
In the context addressed in this article, God will deliver you by placing you where His true servants are, those that He entrusts to serve His people. Those servants are the ones, who, every single day, only seek to please God rather than fulfill their own selfish egos and desires.

Quitting on God as a result of your sufferings is where the real danger is. God is the same today and forever. Quit on them, but do not quit on God. He will deliver you even from the mouth of those savage wolves. Do not let those wolves rob you of the plans God has for you, of your spiritual growth and your spiritual rewards.