If there’s anything I find intolerable, it’s intolerance. Yes, I realize that’s a paradox, and I realize that it makes me a hypocrite (Newsflash: Human Found To Be Hypocritical…SHOCKING!), but at least it’s honest, right? As a recovering Judgmental Jerk-aholic (“Hi, my name is Preston, and I’m a Jerk-aholic.”), I know intolerance! As a senior in high school, when given the opportunity to share the love of God to hundreds of my peers at a chapel service, I used the occasion to lambaste everyone in sight, convinced that I was doing “God’s work” by publicly spotlighting every sin I had seen committed the previous year and publicly humiliating those guilty of these transgressions. To this day, I am mortified by my behavior! I am SO ashamed! I continue to pray regularly that my dogmatic assault in God’s name didn’t do irreparable spiritual harm to the poor students who were subjected to my misguided ignorance that day!
So, as I said, if ANYONE knows intolerance, it’s me! And in my experience, intolerance knows no stereotypes. It is the puppet master of both liberals and conservatives, religious fanatics and radical atheists alike! For example, I was raised in a Christian home and attended church every time the doors were open. Yet despite being repeatedly exposed to the teachings of Jesus, I still managed to be intolerant and judgmental to a nauseating degree for years! On the other hand, a friend of mine, despite an upbringing that included little to no church attendance and rampant drug and alcohol abuse during most of the formative years of his young life, is one of the most intolerant and judgmental people I’ve ever met! (Wait…did that sound judgmental?!) The point is simple…intolerance is not restricted to any one demographic or people group. Experience has taught me that it is more inbred than indoctrinated, more a product of personality than politics.
From a spiritual perspective, intolerance is often most evident in those with the spiritual gift of prophesy. Stop…don’t let me lose you here; please don’t be thrown off by the religious jargon. Let me see if I can describe this in a way that is clear and succinct.
11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Ephesians 4:11 NLT
Scripture lists five roles that Jesus designed to help build up the church. One of these roles, despite how antiquated the concept may seem, is the role of the prophet. Throughout Scripture prophets have been the couriers of God’s message, the liaisons who spoke for God and warned the people of the consequences of disobedience to Him. In the Old Testament, prophets were probably the most revered people in Israel. Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah…these men were considered nearly super-human because of their profound connection with God! Yet for every “real” prophet, there were hundreds (maybe thousands) of “false” ones! Think about it: when the prophet Elijah faced King Ahab on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18), he also faced 950 false prophets! 950 vs. 1 – not good odds! When the prophet Micaiah warned King Ahab not to go to war against Aram (1 Kings 22), he, too, was outnumbered and alone. The point is this…a lot of people wanted to be prophets…but most of them were nothing more than that…Wannabes!
So at the risk of sounding like I’m doing the very thing I’m railing against, I’ve just got to say…I think the same thing is happening today…and WAY too often. I heard recently about a pastor out west who showed a video clip of Joel Osteen at his church and then proceeded to lambast him! I don’t really care whether or not you personally like Joel Osteen; that’s not really the point! I just wonder…wouldn’t this pastor have been better off calling Joel Osteen, setting up a private meeting, and sharing his concerns about his ministry in a loving, constructive way?! Isn’t that what decency demands? Isn’t that what Christ mandates?!
15 “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. 16 But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. 17 If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector. Matthew 18:15-17 NLT
You see I believe that that is EXACTLY what Christ mandates! (Incidentally, I am in no way implying that Joel Osteen has anything he needs to “confess.” I am merely pointing out that if someone believes he does, this is the protocol established by Jesus for dealing with it!) Yet too many people in the church today are Wannabe Prophets, people who believe they have a higher mandate than the one set forth in Scripture, people who believe that they can defame and discredit others “in the name of God” because they have been “chosen by God” to do so. How do I know? Because back in high school, I believed that! I may have never said it out loud! And if you had asked me, I’m sure I would have denied it! Yet my actions revealed the ugliness hidden deep inside of me…and my classmates paid the price for my arrogance and my ignorance!
Earlier I mentioned the prophet Micaiah. When King Ahab was preparing for war against Aram (1 Kings 22), one of his allies, King Jehoshaphat, insisted that they consult with a prophet of God before heading out into battle. All of Ahab’s (wannabe) prophets had already predicted victory, declaring that God had promised Israel a great conquest; yet Micaiah, a prophet of God, correctly predicted defeat for Israel and death for King Ahab, explaining that God had sent a lying spirit to deceive Ahab’s prophets in order to orchestrate his death. When Zedekiah, one of Ahab’s prophet, heard Micaiah’s prediction and explanation, he slapped him across the face and insisted that it was Micaiah who was lying! Of course, when it was all said and done, Micaiah was indeed spot on (surprise, surprise) while Zedekiah turned out to be a Wannabe, a Wannabe Prophet who lashed out against the real man of God in order to validate himself! How disgraceful! How sad!
In the New Testament, a story is told about seven sons of a Jewish priest named Sceva (Acts 19:13-16) who were casting out demons “in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches.” While it is not clear how successful they were overall (I have a guess), it is clear that in Ephesus the demon was not fooled: it said, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?” and then proceeded to beat them senseless!
Amazing…Zedekiah couldn’t fool God, and Sceva’s sons couldn’t fool the Devil! What did they have in common? They were all Wannabe Prophets! They tried to walk like prophets and talk like prophets, but at their core, they had missed it! They were too busy pursuing their own agenda to really tap into what God was saying. What a waste!
I believe that the role of the prophet is still very necessary in the church today. And I believe that there are occasions when people need a good kick in the butt from God. And I believe that sometimes he uses people with the gift of prophesy to do the kicking. But I don’t EVER want to be a Wannabe Prophet! I don’t EVER want to be so wrapped up in pointing out other people’s flaws that I actually drive them farther away from God in the process! Some might argue that I feel this way because my gifts and calling lie more strongly in pastoring and teaching than in prophesy and evangelism. And I wouldn’t totally disagree with them; like I mentioned earlier…intolerance seems to be more hardwired than habitual. But I would argue that the main reason I feel this way is because I have seen the havoc wreaked by one-too-many intolerant, ungodly Wannabe Prophets in my day! I have seen the trail of destruction they leave behind as they engage in defamation and character assassination! And I have seen the toll that hate, intolerance, and judgment exact on their victims, and I don’t want ANY part of it…ever again! You see, I have been a Wannabe Prophet…and I NEVER wannabe one again!
Copyright 2009 Preston Parrish
Great message Preston. Couldn’t have said it better myself. One of the worst travesties in the church is the incessant need of Christians to blast other Christians because they don’t conform to a particular mindset. It is acceptable to publicly come against heresy and heretical teachings, but not to come against Joel Osteen, or other ministers because you wouldn’t preach the way he does. The litmus test – do they believe in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection? Then let them do their thing.
Thanks, Jesse; well said!