The Strong and the Weak

My brother shared an amazing story the other day. He was in his bedroom and saw a hawk heading straight for the glass door. It spread its wings to their fullest extent and trapped a dove against the door, then devoured it. This is a very apt metaphor for what happens in spiritually abusive and authoritarian churches. There's no room for weakness in an abusive church. The strong devour the weak; the weak are a hindrance to the goals of the organization. This differs greatly from the picture the scriptures paint of Christ's Church.

 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. (1 Cor. 12:21-26)

In spiritually abusive churches members are manipulated, often in subtle ways, into competing with one another rather than taking care of each other. Such churches are exemplified by division rather than unity. Those who appear strong to the outside world are the ones who rise up in the organization, provided they are submissive to the leadership and do not pose a threat. The sad irony of this is that the gospel of Christ is for the weak, not the strong. Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mk. 2:17). Paul said, “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong” (1 Cor. 1:27).

 In contrast, the spiritually abusive leader says, in so many words, “To the victor (the strongest) go the spoils,” and the spiritually abusive leader is all about the spoils - the spoils of external success, respect, tangible results. When God’s precious children become statistics in a church leader’s business plan, the weaker members become a hindrance to his plans.

 Maybe Jesus had this in mind when he dined at a prominent Pharisee’s house and stated the following:

 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Luke 14:12-14)

 Man may hate our weakness, but God certainly doesn’t. On the contrary, our weaknesses, which were exploited by unscrupulous religious leaders, provide an opportunity for God’s strength to be made manifest in our lives (2 Corinthians 12:9), that we may experience His wondrous grace and soar like the eagles (see Isaiah 40). There is great freedom in not needing to measure up to another human being’s expectations for us. If you’re not there yet, that’s okay too. God is The Great Artist. When we, in our weakness, trust Him enough to grant Him access to the canvas of our lives, He produces a masterpiece that brings Him glory and produces great joy and peace in our lives.

 “When I am weak, then I am strong.”