Since the dawn of humankind, we have had a propensity to put men on platforms. This theme can be seen throughout the Scriptures, throughout history, up until today. The Israelites didn’t want to be led by God or anyone He appointed, they wanted human kings like the rest of the world. We see this tendency still in ourselves today, to look to humans for leadership more than we look to Jesus. Some easily latch on to a person who appears to be righteous or gifted, naturally longing for a good leader. This person may walk uprightly and “succeed” for a time, so they begin to be idolized by others, until they’ve been elevated onto a pedestal.
The problem is that they were never meant to be put there.
When that person inevitably fails or falls into sin, it can feel crushing. While it’s very natural to be disappointed, we have to remember that people were never supposed to be made idols. Humans typically don’t handle fame well, because we weren’t designed for it. The Biblical definition of leadership is not to be elevated, but to be brought low.[1] These pedestals destroy people, because they cannot carry the weight of a mantle that doesn’t belong on their shoulders. The consequences of idolatry are sobering (both for the idol and those who idolized them), and have much to teach us.
A person’s sin issues are obviously their responsibility to deal with and repent from, and I would hope we all agree that the church should provide loving accountability for that. While nothing excuses the sin of a spiritual leader, the rest of us also have to take responsibility for having put them on a pedestal, if we’ve done so. If we placed someone so high we set them up to fall, we have to examine ourselves too. If you need indicators of having idolized someone to an unhealthy degree, consider when their failures cause you to start questioning your faith, hating the church, or developing anger towards God. God cautioned us that trusting in man will lead to destruction, but trusting in Him will firmly plant us in life-giving ground, where we won’t fear when trouble comes.[2] He commanded us, “Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings who cannot save.”[3] God warned us in many ways that humans would fail, that none of us are above making huge mistakes. I’m reminded of the sobering words of Romans 3:
For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one.”[4]
The Bible is an entire book full of stories about the epic, catastrophic failures of men on their journey to pursue God. Some of them repented, and some didn’t. We know there is no one too far gone for the Living God to redeem them, if they repent—but it’s messy. This book wasn’t given to us so we could make heroes out of the people in the stories we read. It was given to us to make clear the truth that Yahweh can use anyone with a surrendered heart, no matter how messy their story is. We tend to read Biblical stories and come out saying things like “I want to be like David! I want to be like Moses, Abraham, Paul!” But in reality, those men were murderers, adulterers, rapists, and liars—who God had profound mercy on. The only God whose blood is enough to cover sin redeemed their lives from the pit, and was scandalously gracious to use their lives for good. It’s actually offensive how merciful God was to them; because I guarantee if any of them lived today, and their sin was made public, most people wouldn’t deem them worthy of being “used by God.” Nevertheless, God shatters our ideas of justice and mercy and He pours His blood out for anyone who desires to turn from their wickedness. We should not read these stories and come out impressed with these men—we should come out impressed with God.
The same is true for the spiritual leaders of our time. Whatever ways God has gifted them or used their lives for glory should not cause us to worship them, it should cause us to worship Him. So many of us wrestle through disheartening questions after people we admire fall into sin. “Was their faith really genuine? Was it all a performance? Are there still husbands who remain faithful to their wives? Are there men who can really be trusted not to prey on women and children? Was I a fool to look up to that person? Is what I learned from them still good, or even true?” These are natural questions, and I believe the Holy Spirit is ready to receive them and teach us. There are hopeful answers to these kinds of questions, and many more.
Do not fear learning from sinful people. If we knew the sins of all the people we’ve gleaned from, we’d never want to learn from anyone. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”[5] God is the one righteous judge, who sees the depths of our hearts—and He is always in the business of turning evil for good.[6] He has shown us a thousand times that He delights to use messy, broken people for glory. If you’ve benefitted from the spiritual leadership of someone who fell—take heart. It was never about that person, it was about the work of the Holy Spirit in your life—and He is still at it. He is not shocked, He has not faltered.
We innately long for a perfect leader, but there is only one. The One true and perfect hero we all long for, who will never fall.
Autumn Crew is the Managing Editor of FAI Publishing. She lives in the Middle East and serves a number of disciple-making initiatives. She can be reached at autumncrew@faimission.org.