PROSPERITY WITH A DARK PURPOSE - PART VI
"Whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery." - Matthew 5:32
A Mormon friend once inveigled me into an argument on the issue of polygamy. After I had been beaten about the ears with long and tedious expositions justifying the Mormonic practice, the climax was capped by my friend's demand that I cite any passage in Scripture expressly forbidding polygamy, to which I simply replied, "Matthew 6:24 . . . No man can serve two masters." I have not heard from him ever since.
Three major types of extra-marital affairs are probably common to us all. The first would be the 'one-night stand,' which is made possible if a perfect mix of circumstances, hormones, secrecy and of course a consenting partner is included. This encounter is in essence a simple one-time experience, but can sometimes elevate into repeated moments, depending on the willingness of both parties. If it takes two to tango, it certainly takes two to dirty dancing. But of course, one can be held liable for such, especially if the person or persons at fault are married. And being unhappily shackled to one's spouse does not justify the felony a bit. If you believe that marriage for you is not a word but a sentence, why not try putting a period in your gallivanting lifestyle to lessen the load? Having more than one woman never makes a man more of a man. Don't jump from one's comma and then dash to another! Your reputation could lead to a big question mark, affecting further your usual problems with your digestive system which could eventually destroy your colon. An example in Scripture reminds us a kind of repentance through a single confrontation when Nathan exclaimed against David, "Thou art the man!" (2 Samuel 12:7). A second type of affair starts with a simple acquaintance, then friendship, and then elevates into a sexual level later on, based on mutual attraction and can have several emotional factors. But even if this affair can only be platonic and never sexual in nature, it is always wrong and should never be tolerated because it steals the marital relationship of strength and foundation needed for intimacy between husband and wife. This type of an affair is often operated through secrecy, deceit and lies, and the separation of this type requires a grieving time similar to that of a divorce or an annulment. When this type of a relationship shifts to a sexual level, the bonding is so close that the consenting, 'dirty dancing parties' involved will risk everything they have - families (spouse and children), careers, wealth, and even health and life just to maintain the affair. In this case, the very life of a congregation was in jeopardy, even to the extent that a death-wish to the church was confided by this individual to a very close associate. "For death and life are in the power of the tongue." (Proverbs 18:21). Again, the most appropriate Scriptural example of this type and the risks involved is the one involving Samson and Delilah. A repentance following this affair is necessary but not sufficient for recovery. Here, time is very important for healing to take place. As a pattern would now dictate, this type is always prone to repetition. And this person has repeatedly repeated this sin of his, at the expense of several individuals involved in his ministry. Statistically speaking, the chances of recurrence is very high, that therapy is needed to find out why the attraction occured in the first place. This explains now why our 'faux-bonhomme' keeps on going back to his sin, just like an askal returns to his retch. When will this end? Only he holds the answer. There must first be a willingness on his part for genuine admission and then repentance, otherwise he continues to live a life of a male harlot, a gigolo in disguise as a 'messenger of prosperity' as one who knows it, believes it and speaks it. The big question now is: Does he live it? Well, to answer that question, have chickens stop crossing streets? If a second or third or even a fourth affair follows, its duration may be short-lived and the person could very well embark on a journey towards sexual addiction which has many forms in sexual expression. This is perhaps the third type, and now becomes less fulfilling emotionally. He now jumps from paramour to paramour, house to house, subdivision to subdivision, looking for more and more fulfillment for the flesh. A walking, talking bottomless pit, his cup never overfloweth. There is now no emotional attachment in these, putting his behavior at high risk to the extent of contracting a sexually-transmitted disease whether he puts on a prophylactic on his upper head or lower head, in which case doesn't really make any distinct difference. Again, in Scripture, we are shown a type of this sexual behavior which happened in the description of Eli's sons sleeping with women involved in temple ministry (1 Samuel 2:12-25, especially verses 22-25). In this, a necessary public confession and repentance is the only start of a long journey towards self-repair. But, the individual involved in this type of extra-marital affair should never again be placed in a position of ministry. To do so would be much like permitting a paedophile teach Sunday School, allowing a compulsive gambler to work as a card-dealer in a Las Vegas casino, or tolerating a drunkard to work as a bartender in a Las Pinas cabaret, if only to prove that he is already sober, in the same way that some have allowed him to return to preaching even without cleaning him up first from his addictions. His return to ministry would definitely be a set-up for continued failure. As it is, he could be moonlighting now as a salesman for a pastor-businessman-friend of his involved in the selling of bogus body-strengthening, life-enhancing, prosperity-boosting products. Sad, but if that is true, is that his version of prosperity? You will know him by the smell of the chico fruit he bears. It reminds me of those poor teachers who even with such a noble profession, sell tocino or e-load on the side. Now we have pastors who sell 'new-age' paraphernalia on the side. May omniscient God spare them from their appointed lightning bolts.
"Whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery." - Matthew 5:32
A Mormon friend once inveigled me into an argument on the issue of polygamy. After I had been beaten about the ears with long and tedious expositions justifying the Mormonic practice, the climax was capped by my friend's demand that I cite any passage in Scripture expressly forbidding polygamy, to which I simply replied, "Matthew 6:24 . . . No man can serve two masters." I have not heard from him ever since.
Three major types of extra-marital affairs are probably common to us all. The first would be the 'one-night stand,' which is made possible if a perfect mix of circumstances, hormones, secrecy and of course a consenting partner is included. This encounter is in essence a simple one-time experience, but can sometimes elevate into repeated moments, depending on the willingness of both parties. If it takes two to tango, it certainly takes two to dirty dancing. But of course, one can be held liable for such, especially if the person or persons at fault are married. And being unhappily shackled to one's spouse does not justify the felony a bit. If you believe that marriage for you is not a word but a sentence, why not try putting a period in your gallivanting lifestyle to lessen the load? Having more than one woman never makes a man more of a man. Don't jump from one's comma and then dash to another! Your reputation could lead to a big question mark, affecting further your usual problems with your digestive system which could eventually destroy your colon. An example in Scripture reminds us a kind of repentance through a single confrontation when Nathan exclaimed against David, "Thou art the man!" (2 Samuel 12:7). A second type of affair starts with a simple acquaintance, then friendship, and then elevates into a sexual level later on, based on mutual attraction and can have several emotional factors. But even if this affair can only be platonic and never sexual in nature, it is always wrong and should never be tolerated because it steals the marital relationship of strength and foundation needed for intimacy between husband and wife. This type of an affair is often operated through secrecy, deceit and lies, and the separation of this type requires a grieving time similar to that of a divorce or an annulment. When this type of a relationship shifts to a sexual level, the bonding is so close that the consenting, 'dirty dancing parties' involved will risk everything they have - families (spouse and children), careers, wealth, and even health and life just to maintain the affair. In this case, the very life of a congregation was in jeopardy, even to the extent that a death-wish to the church was confided by this individual to a very close associate. "For death and life are in the power of the tongue." (Proverbs 18:21). Again, the most appropriate Scriptural example of this type and the risks involved is the one involving Samson and Delilah. A repentance following this affair is necessary but not sufficient for recovery. Here, time is very important for healing to take place. As a pattern would now dictate, this type is always prone to repetition. And this person has repeatedly repeated this sin of his, at the expense of several individuals involved in his ministry. Statistically speaking, the chances of recurrence is very high, that therapy is needed to find out why the attraction occured in the first place. This explains now why our 'faux-bonhomme' keeps on going back to his sin, just like an askal returns to his retch. When will this end? Only he holds the answer. There must first be a willingness on his part for genuine admission and then repentance, otherwise he continues to live a life of a male harlot, a gigolo in disguise as a 'messenger of prosperity' as one who knows it, believes it and speaks it. The big question now is: Does he live it? Well, to answer that question, have chickens stop crossing streets? If a second or third or even a fourth affair follows, its duration may be short-lived and the person could very well embark on a journey towards sexual addiction which has many forms in sexual expression. This is perhaps the third type, and now becomes less fulfilling emotionally. He now jumps from paramour to paramour, house to house, subdivision to subdivision, looking for more and more fulfillment for the flesh. A walking, talking bottomless pit, his cup never overfloweth. There is now no emotional attachment in these, putting his behavior at high risk to the extent of contracting a sexually-transmitted disease whether he puts on a prophylactic on his upper head or lower head, in which case doesn't really make any distinct difference. Again, in Scripture, we are shown a type of this sexual behavior which happened in the description of Eli's sons sleeping with women involved in temple ministry (1 Samuel 2:12-25, especially verses 22-25). In this, a necessary public confession and repentance is the only start of a long journey towards self-repair. But, the individual involved in this type of extra-marital affair should never again be placed in a position of ministry. To do so would be much like permitting a paedophile teach Sunday School, allowing a compulsive gambler to work as a card-dealer in a Las Vegas casino, or tolerating a drunkard to work as a bartender in a Las Pinas cabaret, if only to prove that he is already sober, in the same way that some have allowed him to return to preaching even without cleaning him up first from his addictions. His return to ministry would definitely be a set-up for continued failure. As it is, he could be moonlighting now as a salesman for a pastor-businessman-friend of his involved in the selling of bogus body-strengthening, life-enhancing, prosperity-boosting products. Sad, but if that is true, is that his version of prosperity? You will know him by the smell of the chico fruit he bears. It reminds me of those poor teachers who even with such a noble profession, sell tocino or e-load on the side. Now we have pastors who sell 'new-age' paraphernalia on the side. May omniscient God spare them from their appointed lightning bolts.
(Image from http://www.evangelicalright.com/)
5 comments:
hundreds have read this, Leslie, but it is futile if you will not name names..
my friend has left a comment, but you deleted.. why?
is Johnny my guy? oh well, who knows? but your guess is as good as mine..
let us continue praying for this pastor. he cannot deceive people all the time. and to those who are still in denial, please wake up, life is too short to make another mistake..
and leslie, please do not delete my comments...
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