The Cat Poop, You Can Pitch

When it comes to bad news, human beings have the same attitude that cats have about poop. Bury it and walk away.

Unfortunately, this works better for cats than people. If you’re not honest with yourself and others, you will not get rid of your problems. Instead you will encapsulate them in a scab of lies, and over time, the problems will fester and grow.

This is what the ancient Jews did when the prophets told them things they didn’t want to hear. Often they also put the prophets in jail or murdered them. The practice of shooting messengers is probably about one day younger than the practice of bringing messages.

Later on, after the guilty parties were dead, the Jews talked about the greatness of the prophets. They honored them. Over time, people come to see a prophet’s merit, but when this happens the prophet is generally dead, and the awful judgments he tried to prevent have already befallen the folks who killed him.

We always look back and say, “Wow, I wouldn’t have persecuted that guy. Those people were stupid.” Christians love taking this attitude toward Jews, but we are exactly the same. In fact, we are probably worse. Many of us have had personal exposure to spiritual gifts and supernatural wonders. The baptism with the Holy Spirit has been available to us for 2000 years. The Holy Spirit himself will testify against us when we try to explain why we drove him away and didn’t listen.

Last night, I had a fresh revelation on the similarity of Jews and Christians. I was reading the gospel of Mark, but the point is better illustrated by Matthew 23, which refers to the same material at greater length. Jesus railed against glory-starved, power-hungry, greedy religious authorities who served their own bellies at the expense of the expense of the poor and the kingdom of God.

Here is part of the chapter:

But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.

Think of the TV preachers we deal with today. Sure, they preach the gospel, and they help people get salvation. But some tell us things that are not true, in order to make money. They tell us we have to give cash offerings three times a year, to get “seven blessings” from God. They tell us we’ll get a “hundredfold return” if we give money “above the tithe.” I have never heard one warn us to pay our debts first. I have never heard one warn us not to borrow in order to give.

What’s the result? Faithful Christians who think they’re doing the right thing shovel out money, and it’s not always money they can afford. Some of these people are seniors on fixed incomes or living on savings. So we have preachers who are quite literally “devouring widows’ houses.”

This is the cat poop I was talking about. If you point out the problems with the strange doctrine we hear today, you may get thrown out of a church. I think you can pretty much count on being excluded from any type of promotion from within the Christian community. You’re not likely to be invited to speak on TBN.

God tells us to give. He says we should lend without expecting a return. He says he will keep poverty away from the righteous, and he will return money we give to the poor. He implies that he will listen to our cries for our help, if we listen to the cries of the needy. But he is not so gung-ho on giving outrageous gifts to ministries.

We have to support ministries. We have to give to our churches. No doubt about it. And I believe God rewards this, WHEN we are guided by the Holy Spirit. But will he reward us when we’re simply giving in order to get money back? Will he reward us because we’ve given to ministers who have whined and begged and made us feel guilty? Will he reward us when we give rashly, without consulting the Holy Spirit, or when we force our creditors to bear the true burden of our generosity?

I get tired of ministers complaining about low offerings. On the one hand, they tell us God will bless his servants, and they say they practice what they preach. They tell us they give, just as we do. On the other, they say their ministries need help. Am I the only one who sees the inconsistency here? If God isn’t blessing your ministry, why should I? Maybe you need to be chastised, and if I block God’s judgment, you’ll be deprived of a valuable lesson. If God wants you to have my money, why isn’t he urging me to give it to you? He urges me to give all the time. If you’re not on his list, isn’t it kind of a heads-up?

There are some ministries that seem safe. Perry Stone is very successful, and he never begs. John Bevere doesn’t beg. Both of these men talk about the Holy Spirit all the time. As far as I know, neither one has a megachurch with tacky furnishings and a jet. I’m sure they live well. So what? Congratulations to them. I can find no fault with them, so I don’t care if they live in the Taj Mahal. I think God will quite literally bring plenty to people who support such individuals. But these other characters…the guys who say “seed gift” fifty times an hour…there is no way I’ll ever give any of them a dime.

Right now, mindless, greedy people are protesting in our streets, and they’re learning how powerful mobs can be. Mayor Bloomberg bows to them. President Obama says he supports them. The cops are afraid of them. And these people do not like God or Christianity. There have already been rumblings about protesting outside megachurches.

What’s going to happen as the economy gets worse and we continue to encourage these grown brats? They’re going to get bolder, and their numbers will increase. We’ve seen this in the past. Look up “Bonus Army.” Look up “Hooverville.” And thanks to technology, todays mobs are much more adaptable and coordinated than the mobs of old. They’re way more dangerous.

Sooner or later, Christians who have obliterated their savings giving to false prophets will start popping up in the crowds. The mobs may follow through on the church protests. We won’t be able to get rid of them without the National Guard. What will we say to them? “Your hundredfold return is in the mail”? Testimony is a powerful thing, but what if we start hearing testimony proving the prosperity preachers are wrong?

I know a person who gave a lot to ministries and ended up broke, deeply in debt, unemployed, nearly friendless, afflicted with incurable cancer, facing felony charges, and mentally ill. Is this the only such person in the United States? Seriously, now. There may be millions. They’re not going to stay quiet forever. Sooner or later the cat poop is going to pop out of the sand.

Christianity is not about getting rich. It’s about improving by means of submitting to the Holy Spirit. It’s about power and blessings, but it’s also about righteousness. The other day, I thought I heard God telling me, “Righteousness IS power.” We’re supposed to be praying in tongues, listening to the Holy Spirit, and learning to walk by faith. Sending foolish people big checks is not the central practice of our religion.

The world is descending into economic chaos. Things are going to get bad. Riots are a certainty. We are going to make ourselves targets by promoting self-serving nonsense. We are going to legitimize anti-Christian sentiment. We need to look at the long view. Building a few ridiculous megachurches right now will not save us at a time when we need to be able to show people God’s power and love. No rioter or home invader is going to respect a preacher in a $5000 magenta suit when he tries to explain himself. Only the angels and the Holy Spirit will be able to defend us, rescue us, and help our persecutors become like us. We are supposed to be lights to the world, and if we were, God would make some effort to preserve us. But if all we teach is greed and success, we are of the world as well as in it. Why would God intervene to help one worldly person against another? If we’re not invested in him, what is the point? It’s just one person who trusts and lusts after money, fighting his brother.

If a prosperity preacher had been advising Moses, he would have told him to snuggle up to Pharaoh. “He’s a man of influence! He’s powerful! Let’s network! Let’s see if we can get him to tithe! Our problems will be OVER.” That’s not how we’re supposed to live. The powerful person we’re supposed to get close to is God.

Some of our preachers are putting nooses around their own necks. The Kristallnacht spirit is getting strong, and when the dam bursts, the most tempting victims will be those who are clearly hypocrites and scoundrels. And the rest of us will be splattered by the fallout.

We need to turn from this foolishness while there is time. We need to repent and distance ourselves. The innocent will suffer along with the guilty, but innocence is still an asset in and of itself, and it may be a help to us. And if we start taking care of the poor instead of spoiling celebrity preachers, we know God will be on our side, because he has promised it.