Christian Psychopaths
Hello dear reader. Today I have some disturbing news. In the ranks of the Pentecostal Church, we have an epidemic of mentally askew individuals.
I know that as I type these words, you are already thinking of a long list of people you’ve met in church whom you believe are not “all there” (believe me, I have encountered many like that as well), but I’m not talking about those people. I’m not talking about the strange, the different, or the troubled.
I’m talking about seemingly normal men and women. Brothers and Sisters who take part in the worship service just like everyone else. Men and women of God who are LEADERS in the church. Musicians, teachers, committee members, etc. Everyone from the greeters at the door to the song leaders on the platform. Some of them are even preachers in the pulpit.
The disorder many of them carry is quite dangerous, and could harm anyone who is in contact with them for a long enough period.
What is it exactly they have? Bluntly, many of these people are PSYCHOPATHS.
I know – it sounds like I’m overstating the problem or just trying to insult some church leaders, but I promise you that I’ll demonstrate my claim.
Psychopaths, clinically, have a defining trait: they will do wrong to those around them, and show NO REMORSE for their actions.
No remorse – this is the identifying feature of a psychopath. Yet, I feel I have met many such people who demonstrate this quality in life. I know a number of longtime Christians who will harm their Brothers and Sisters in God, but never seek REPENTANCE or forgiveness for their deeds. They are seemingly not sorry for their actions. They show NO REMORSE.
In essence, they are spiritually askew. There is a disconnection between The Christian Life and the life they actually live. The Bible firmly preaches repentance (Acts 2:38). We are also told by Jesus to “LEAVE our gift at the altar” and make right with our Brother first, yet so many Pentecostals ignore this verse. They claim they have done no wrong, and blame the offended party for being offended. In other words, they show NO REMORSE.
How can I live a life following Jesus but continue to wound my Brothers? Apparently, by denying that I ever hurt them to begin with. By arguing with anyone who challenges me that “I’m right and they should stop being offended!”
The Apostles were very clear on this:
What greater action of hatred can I perform than to noticeably scar a Brother and then simply go about my day as if it never happened?
I must do my best to help those I have wronged. I must GO to them and MAKE it right. I must SEEK their forgiveness and then LIVE better than before. I must endeavor going forward to AVOID harming those around me: especially those in the church. I must help and uplift, and not intentionally pull down others.
If I don’t? Well then, I would not be showing any remorse.
I would be a Christian Psychopath!
I know that as I type these words, you are already thinking of a long list of people you’ve met in church whom you believe are not “all there” (believe me, I have encountered many like that as well), but I’m not talking about those people. I’m not talking about the strange, the different, or the troubled.
I’m talking about seemingly normal men and women. Brothers and Sisters who take part in the worship service just like everyone else. Men and women of God who are LEADERS in the church. Musicians, teachers, committee members, etc. Everyone from the greeters at the door to the song leaders on the platform. Some of them are even preachers in the pulpit.
The disorder many of them carry is quite dangerous, and could harm anyone who is in contact with them for a long enough period.
What is it exactly they have? Bluntly, many of these people are PSYCHOPATHS.
I know – it sounds like I’m overstating the problem or just trying to insult some church leaders, but I promise you that I’ll demonstrate my claim.
Psychopaths, clinically, have a defining trait: they will do wrong to those around them, and show NO REMORSE for their actions.
No remorse – this is the identifying feature of a psychopath. Yet, I feel I have met many such people who demonstrate this quality in life. I know a number of longtime Christians who will harm their Brothers and Sisters in God, but never seek REPENTANCE or forgiveness for their deeds. They are seemingly not sorry for their actions. They show NO REMORSE.
In essence, they are spiritually askew. There is a disconnection between The Christian Life and the life they actually live. The Bible firmly preaches repentance (Acts 2:38). We are also told by Jesus to “LEAVE our gift at the altar” and make right with our Brother first, yet so many Pentecostals ignore this verse. They claim they have done no wrong, and blame the offended party for being offended. In other words, they show NO REMORSE.
How can I live a life following Jesus but continue to wound my Brothers? Apparently, by denying that I ever hurt them to begin with. By arguing with anyone who challenges me that “I’m right and they should stop being offended!”
The Apostles were very clear on this:
"Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him."
1 John 3:15
I must do my best to help those I have wronged. I must GO to them and MAKE it right. I must SEEK their forgiveness and then LIVE better than before. I must endeavor going forward to AVOID harming those around me: especially those in the church. I must help and uplift, and not intentionally pull down others.
If I don’t? Well then, I would not be showing any remorse.
I would be a Christian Psychopath!
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