Woe Will Come upon False Pastors

Addicted to Praise!

“Woe to you when all people speak well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets” (Luke 6:26).

As I meditate on the words, I desire to receive the lesson given through this passage.

(1)    Today, December 19, is the birthday of my beloved wife.

(a)    Therefore, I would first like to share a post in which I praised my wife as part of the “‘Praising One’s Spouse’ Challenge” that I began on July 29, 2020:

(i)                 My wife, Jane  …

·         Loves me as I am and respects me.

·         Is generous, upright, and bold.

·         Is considerate toward others and generous in giving.

(b)    This is something I wrote on July 3, 2020, under the title “A Wife Who Is Praised by Her Husband”:

(i)                 “A wife who is praised by her husband, a mother for whom her children are thankful—she is a woman who fears God alone” (Prov. 31:28, 30).

(ii)               “A capable wife who gives her husband confidence (Prov. 31:10–11), a wife who builds up her husband and thus gains recognition from others as well (v. 23).  Her husband praises her, saying, ‘Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all’” (v. 29).

(2)    I would like to share just a few Scripture meditation writings I have written about “praise.”

(a)    (Prov. 27:21b) “… The crucible tests silver and the furnace tests gold, but a person is tested by praise.”

(i)                 “The Common Translation renders this verse as, ‘Only when you praise someone do you know what kind of person they are.’  In other words, by observing a person’s attitude when they receive praise, you can learn something about their character. For example, a person who enjoys showing off will strive to hear praise.  I believe that continually praising such a person may not be good for them either.  This is because when someone is starved for praise and strives to receive it, even a single word of loving correction can deeply wound them, disappoint them, and cause them to stumble.  In Proverbs 27:2, which we have already meditated on, Scripture says, ‘Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.’  The lesson we learned from this verse was that we should not engage in self-praise.”

(ii)               “I think today’s passage, the latter half of Proverbs 27:21—‘a person is tested by praise’—is very important.   This is because I believe we humans are very vulnerable to praise. Especially when we serve the church, which is the body of the Lord, we feel good and happy when we receive praise from other brothers and sisters.  Yet because of that praise, there is a real danger (temptation) that instead of giving glory to God, we may give it to ourselves.  Furthermore, if we become conditioned by the praise of church members without even realizing it, there is a risk that we will serve the Lord’s church not in order to receive praise from the Lord, but to receive praise from people.  Brothers and sisters, rather than liking to be praised by people, we should like to be praised by the Lord.  One day we will all stand before the Lord to give an account, and at that time, should we not receive the praise, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant’ (Mt. 18:23–24; 25:14–30)?  Then what should we do, and how should we live?  We must become faithful and wise servants (24:45).”

(b)    “A Believer Worthy of Praise”:

(i)                 “A believer who does not leave the community (the church) over a long period of time, but faithfully keeps the responsibility that the Lord has commanded, is worthy of praise” (Joshua 22:3) [Here, “that responsibility” refers to one’s responsibility as a member of the church community].

(c)    “What Is There to Be Praised?”:

(i)                 “It is my natural instinct to love only those who love me, to show kindness only to those who are kind to me, and to lend to people expecting to receive something in return.  But the Lord says, ‘What credit is that to you? … Even sinners do that.’ The Lord’s command is, ‘But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting anything back’” (Lk. 6:31–35).

(d)    “A Person Whom the Lord Praises”:

(i)                 “We should let others praise us, but we should not praise ourselves with our own mouths” (Prov. 27:2).  ‘The person whom the Lord approves is not the one who commends himself, but the one whom the Lord commends’ (2 Cor. 10:18).  ‘If you suffer for doing wrong and endure it, what credit is that?  But if you suffer for doing good and endure it, this is commendable before God’ (1 Pet. 2:20).

(e)    “Faith That the Lord Praises”:

(i)                 “The faith that the Lord praises (Mt. 8:10; Luke 7:9) is knowing that the Lord’s word alone is sufficient” (v.  8—‘Just say the word’; Lk. 7:7—‘Just say the word’).

(3)    I would like to share just two short reflections I wrote about “praise.”

(a)    “Let Us Love Rebuke More Than Praise”:

(i)                 “It is far better for our hearts to be humbled by being rebuked by God through His Word than for our hearts to become proud by receiving praise and recognition from people.”

(b)    “Reproof Rather Than Praise …”:

(i)                 “I long more for one word of loving reproof spoken in love than for ten thousand insincere words of praise.”

(4)    When we look at today’s text, Luke 6:26, the Korean Bible begins with the words, “When all people …”, but in the original Greek text it begins with “Woe …” [“Οὐαὶ” (ouai)].  Jesus said, “Woe …” to whom?  To “those whom all people praise” (v. 26).  In other words, Jesus warned that woe would come upon those who pursue human praise (Internet).

(a)    As I meditated on the phrase “those who pursue people’s praise,” the biblical figure who came to my mind was King Herod, who pleased people rather than God: “Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church, to harm them.  And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.  And when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also.  This was during the days of Unleavened Bread” (Acts 12:1–3).

(i)                 When Herod saw that the Jews were pleased by the killing of James, the brother of John, he arrested Peter as well and put him in prison in order to win their favor (v. 4).  This popularity-seeking political behavior of Herod stands in clear contrast to the God-centered convictions of the apostles and highlights the constant conflict between seeking God’s approval and seeking human approval (Internet).

·         (Galatians 1:10)  “Am I now seeking the favor of people, or of God?  Or am I striving to please people?  If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

(b)    When I think of the unbelieving Jews who were pleased when King Herod killed James, the brother of John, I am reminded of how their ancestors persecuted the true prophet Jeremiah and instead accepted the false prophecies of false prophets.

(i)                 The prophet Jeremiah was a true prophet.  He was not a prophet who proclaimed visions like the false prophets who claimed to receive revelations.  Jeremiah never prophesied lies according to his own heart, nor did he lead the people of Israel astray.  Rather, he received the word of God and diligently proclaimed it in order to guide the people of Israel onto the right path. However, the people of Israel did not listen to Jeremiah.  Instead, they persecuted Jeremiah, the true prophet.

·         Instead, they listened to the pleasing words spoken by the false prophets—visions spoken from their own minds (Jere. 23:16), that is, empty teachings given to the people of Israel (v. 16): “You will have peace,” and “No disaster will come upon you” (v. 17).

-          These words were not true.  They were lies.  The false prophets prophesied lies in the name of the Lord (v. 25).  They stole the word of God (v. 30).  Therefore, with reckless tongues (v. 31), the false prophets proclaimed “false dreams” (v. 32) and led God’s people astray (v. 32).  They “prophesied the deceit of their own hearts” (v. 26).  Through “lies and empty boasting,” they deceived the people of Israel (v. 32) and led them astray (v. 13).

(5)    Even today, within the church, there are people—just like the people of Israel—who enjoy listening to sermons by false pastors that scratch itching ears (2 Tim. 4:3).

(a)    Rather than sermons of rebuke, warning, and exhortation for sinful church members (v. 2), there are believers who prefer to hear comforting sermons from false pastors saying, “You will have peace,” and “No disaster will come upon you” (Jere. 23:17).  They even claim to have received grace from such sermons and go on to praise those false pastors.

(i)                 The problem is false pastors who are so addicted to people’s praise that they crave such praise from these church members.

·         On July 18, 2009, under the title “False Self vs. True Self,” I revisited something I had written while meditating on a passage from Henri Nouwen’s The One Necessary Thing: Living a Prayerful Life, which says: “… we cling to our false self in the hope that we might obtain the love we so deeply desire through more success, praise, and satisfaction ….”  What I wrote then was this: “’What do others think of me?’ is a question we ask ourselves countless times, consciously or unconsciously.   I believe this is human instinct.  Even though we know the truth that we must live before God rather than before people, we cannot deny that there are times when we live while being conscious of, or even fearing, people’s eyes.  When my heart becomes increasingly sensitive to people’s reactions, I sometimes discover myself unknowingly trying to draw out positive responses from them.  This phenomenon does not happen overnight; rather, it develops as our ears and hearts gradually become accustomed to it over time.  For example, when people praise me, even while expressing gratitude for that praise, my ears gradually begin to enjoy it, and as I listen more closely to such praise, I sometimes find myself emotionally captured by it and even expecting it.  Of course, I can usually recognize and brush off polite, routine compliments.  But as I grow accustomed to praise, I think I may even begin to like those routine compliments. In a sense, this too can be described as a form of addiction.”

-          When I asked the internet, “Who are false pastors addicted to praise?”, I received the following response: “A ‘false pastor addicted to praise’ refers to a pastor who deviates from biblical standards, obsesses over people’s praise and popularity, and distorts the gospel for personal popularity or material and reputational gain rather than guiding believers on the right path.  Such pastors are associated with false prophets or hired hands, can hinder believers’ spiritual growth, and may cause problems within the church. These pastors tend to focus more on worldly success, blind devotion from congregants, or self-centered preaching than on biblical teaching” (Internet).

-          When I again asked, “False pastors addicted to praise?”, I received this response: “A ‘false pastor addicted to praise’ is described in Scripture as a false prophet or false shepherd—one who panders to congregants’ praise and popularity, seeks personal gain, and deceives people with pleasant-sounding words rather than biblical truth.  Such individuals may display traits such as seeking power, exalting themselves or a particular denomination or church above God (self-centeredness), and demanding excessive devotion or blind loyalty from congregants (church-centeredness).  They lose the true essence of pastoral ministry and pursue worldly honor and wealth” (Internet).

n  Therefore, woe will come upon these false pastors who are addicted to praise!  (See Luke 6:26)