Spiritual Abuse Verses

[Cal]

The word of the Lord came to me: "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them."

[Ezekiel 34:1-6, NIV]

[Cal]

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices -- mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law -- justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel."

[Matthew 23:23-24, NIV]

[Cal]

Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves."

[Luke 22:25-26, NIV]

[Cal]

This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves.

[Galatians 2:4, NIV]

[Cal]

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to."

[Matthew 23:13, NIV]

[Cal]

"Among my people are wicked men who lie in wait like men who snare birds and like those who set traps to catch men. Like cages full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; they have become rich and powerful and have grown fat and sleek. Their evil deeds have no limit; they do not plead the case of the fatherless to win it, they do not defend the rights of the poor. Should I not punish them for this?” declares the Lord. “Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?"

[Jeremiah 5:26-29, NIV]

[Ohio]

Having just read a political commentary with the above title, a few comments were made that were quite fitting and appropriate for repeating here. I am going to take a few liberties to make this post more readable and hopefully purged of politics. It is my feeling that the comments apply to all in leadership roles. The quotes will be italicized and colored.

After mentioning a story of a politician with one of the hottest tempers around, the writer asks, "Should we care? I think we should. The most important measure of a human being is the way he or she treats other people, especially those under his or her power. By many accounts, Mr. X degrades and demeans them. And there's no excuse for it."

Interestingly, a sidebar to the article lists many "Notable bullies of our times," with nasty stories attached to each one.

The article continues with another politician, "We've all met people like Mr. Y; some of us have worked for folks like him. You don't want a boss who degrades, harangues and humiliates you. So why would you vote for one? Here you might reply that public officials are elected to, well, serve the public. So if their arrogant and domineering style gets staffers to work harder, it's good for all of us.

But let's leave aside the question of whether this style produces better results. Even if it did - and I have my doubts - it still would be wrong. Our lawmakers do more than simply make laws; they're supposed to represent us, in every sense of the word. By electing officials who demean their employees, we also demean ourselves."

Referring to another leader, he asks, "How much does personal virtue matter in public office? ... Presidents - more than anybody else - serve as symbols of us all; they embody our deepest beliefs, values and principles. We would never elect people who did physical harm to those under their charge. But we continue to elect verbal and emotional bullies, who can do just as much damage." -- JZ, professor NYU

Shouldn't we expect as much from LC leaders? Several times I have mentioned that the single most objectionable LC matter for me was the mistreatment of people, i.e. the program transformed beloved brothers into bullies. From the top down, far too many LC leaders have failed us in this regard ... and far too many loving shepherds have departed due to them.

[finallyprettyokay]

Ohio wrote: Several times I have mentioned that the single most objectionable LC matter for me was the mistreatment of people, i.e. the program transformed beloved brothers into bullies. From the top down, far too many LC leaders have failed us in this regard ... and far too many loving shepherds have departed due to them.

Exactly!!! Couldn't have said it better. People got hurt there.

[Nell]

Matthew 23:.. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

[Nell]

Bringing this timely topic to the top.

Nell

[OBW]

Always a topic worthy of consideration.

But in an off-topic way, I note that some of the verses in Jeremiah seem to speak to some of our political/cultural issues of today as well.

[JJ]

2 Corinthians 11:20 (linked here in its context https://biblehub.com/bsb/2_corinthians/11.htm) is a great verse for anyone thinking it is better to “turn the other cheek” to an abusive church leader. It simply isn’t! Turn away! Don’t put up with it.

The apostle Paul is this verse is shaming the Corinthians regarding “many who boast in their flesh” saying “you gladly tolerate fools, since you are so wise. In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or exalts himself or strikes you in the face.” And he compares himself and his coworkers who are meek and gentle among them as setting the right example from chapters 11-14 in a long discourse.

[JJ]

Originally Posted by JJ

2 Corinthians 11:20 (linked here in its context https://biblehub.com/bsb/2_corinthians/11.htm) is a great verse for anyone thinking it is better to “turn the other cheek” to an abusive church leader. It simply isn’t! Turn away! Don’t put up with it.

The apostle Paul is this verse is shaming the Corinthians regarding “many who boast in their flesh” saying “you gladly tolerate fools, since you are so wise. In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or exalts himself or strikes you in the face.” And he compares himself and his coworkers who are meek and gentle among them as setting the right example from chapters 11-14 in a long discourse.

When the apostle Paul finally was severe it was after multiple warnings and his reasons were “For I fear lest perhaps having come, I may not find you such as I wish, and I might be found by you such as you do not wish; lest perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, contentions, slander, gossip, conceit, disorder; lest of my having come again, my God should humble me as to you, and I should mourn over many of those having before sinned and not having repented of the impurity, and sexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced.”

In contrast to this, according to Witness Lee Watchman Nee was “edified and perfected” first by Dora Yu who dismissed him from her training school for being lazy without confronting him about it and by Margaret E. Barber who frequently administered strict discipline on the young people she trained (words from Watchman Nee a Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age by Witness Lee).