This past week the pope came to town. No—he didn’t visit my little town but did come to the U.S. for the first time since taking his position. Just out of curiosity I’ve been watching a little of the coverage to see what the fuss was about. I’ve been shocked by the actions of thousands of people pouring out to catch a glimpse of him or have the chance to touch him. Yes, touch him. Many were treating him like he was a movie/rock star. I witnessed coverage of people falling over themselves crying and nearly fainting over his presence. While he didn’t encourage this reaction I didn’t see him do anything to discourage it. As I watched I realized the Catholic church isn’t the only place where this problem exists. This issue seems to be something we are dealing with in Christendom worldwide. There are portions of the Christian world who are subscribing to an ideal of misplaced worship. Many ministers, out of a fleshly desire to be treated this way, have allowed these actions to continue unchecked. Over the years Christians have taken scriptures that reference “giving honor” and “touch not mine anointed,” and have allowed observance of such to turn into something scripture never intended it to be. Ministers at mega churches (and not-so-mega churches) are allowing themselves to be given over to fleshly desires by buying million dollar homes, high priced vehicles, jets, high-priced clothing, and the like because they think they “deserve” it. Their actions are beginning to mimic something you would expect to see of a ‘high-roller’ at a Vegas casino.
What’s your point, Brian? I would like make a request of everyone who reads this. STOP WORSHIPPING YOUR PASTOR(S)! It seems the line between respect and blatant worship have become blurred—and that scares me. I understand and appreciate the respect being given to those in these positions-and I subscribe to the same as the Bible requires such. But when Christians worldwide begin to buy into the lies this “superstar” lifestyle is okay—we’re in big trouble. These actions completely undermine the entire ideal of Christianity. We were created to worship God and nothing/no one else. Pope Francis is a man. Your pastor is also human. A ministerial license or a high ranking position in a denomination doesn’t make someone superman/superwoman. It simply signifies a desire to live a life ‘set apart’ for the work of the kingdom. We all put our pants on one leg at a time. Everyone’s feet stink after a long day of working. We are all human. I dare you to find one person in this world with the ability to heal or take away sins. Everything we are is because of God. He is the very air we breathe. He is the giver of life. He alone has the power to forgive our sins. Exodus 20:3 reminds us, “You shall have no other gods before me.” Anything that takes your attention from God is an object of worship—relationships, tangible items, fleshly desires, etc. I’ve seen time and again where ministers have been placed on (or have placed themselves on) pedestals only to fall to moral failure or some other tragic occurrence. If we’re not careful we all will fall victim to the hype being pushed to the forefront. Every action we take and every word out of our mouths should point others to God. If it doesn’t I’m not sure we can genuinely call ourselves Christians. Are you worshipping YOUR pastor?
Final thoughts and encouragement: I encourage you to take an inventory of the object(s) of your worship. If God isn’t your focus it may be time to REfocus. I pray God’s blessings on you all, my friends!