Chuck Swindoll wrote the first part of this article in 1987. He began
distributing the list of telltale signs in 1978 while he was pastor of
the Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton, when the church lost a number
of college students to the Assembly, including Gary H., who was being
groomed to assist Howie Stevenson as music director. The news has recently carried a story about one of Jim Jones'
cohorts. You remember him, don't you, and the whole Jonestown tragedy?
It's been nine years, but the memory is as vivid as if it were last
week. If I live to be 125, I think I'll never lose the chill that runs
up my spine every time I recall those 900-plus people who voluntarily
drank poison, laid down without a fight (in rows!)..."looking like
full-grown rag dolls," as one eyewitness reported when he viewed the
corpses in the steamy jungle of Guyana. Over 900 people who, though
dead, still speak. They were once living, thinking, breathing, caring human beings.
People much like you and me. They knew and sang a lot of the same hymns
we love. They attended meetings, much like we attend. They listened to
preaching, they carried Bibles, they often referred to Scripture, they
gave offerings. They were committed and sincere and loyal and
enthusiastic...and blind. Yes, that's the right word. Blind. It's not my choice of word,
it's Jesus.' His counsel to all who begin to realize that their leaders
have gone off the deep end Read and never, ever forget: Three extremely powerful words: "Let them alone." The Greek is an
emphatic imperative: "Leave them!" The term means "to forsake." We'd
say, "Get outa there!" It's the best counsel I've ever read for folks
who are getting involved in a cult or a religious movement that's gone
to seed. It applies to any alleged "spiritual" leader who has stepped
beyond proper bounds. Unfortunately, when you're blind, you no longer see error. In fact,
you lack what I often call a sensitive antenna. That doesn't suddenly
happen, you realize. People don't suddenly agree to drink poison
and convince their children to do the same. Slowly, gradually, as
imperceptibly as tiny chunks of soil breaking off a cliff at the beach,
clear and discerning sight begins to fade. First, peripheral vision gets
blurred. Next, tunnel vision occurs. Then, the light even in the tunnel
decreases. Finally, it's down to a big dog and a white
cane...ultimately, even that is taken away as "follow the leader"
becomes the only acceptable rule for all in the tunnel. The leader
becomes Lord. Heresy replaces orthodoxy. His (or her) words are absolute law. If he (or she) requires slavery,
don't dare question it. If it's a new color scheme, accept it; red is
really blue, yellow is actually green...and black? Well, it's now
off-white. When you're blind, face it, all those colors run together. All you
need to concern yourself with is what color the leader says it is...then
repeat it without thinking it through. And welcome to Nazi Germany. If
you buy into the system, not even the ovens as Auschwitz or the hellish
conditions at Ravensbruck or Flossenberg or Wolbrom or Krakow keep you
awake. Somehow, when you're blinded like that, you can't even smell,
feel, or hear any more. Nothing matters...only the will of the master at
the top. Most don't wear swastikas on their arms; some wear crosses
around their necks and pray and quote scripture. For not quite a decade I have been distributing a warning list to all
who are following strong religious leaders. Every time I repeat it, I
remind folks that it's not all leaders I'm suspicious of...just
blind leaders. God is still using trustworthy leaders--always
has--so don't think for a minute I'm down on all who point the
way...only those who have lost their way, but convince others they still
know where they're going. (Yes, that could happen to me, too. No leader
is immune to error!) How can you tell when you're dancing near the edge?
What are some telltale signs that poison is brewing and blindness is
setting in? At the risk of sounding repetitious, here's that list again: Authoritarianism: Watch out when the leader deliberately
represses your freedom...when inflexibility, oppressiveness, and threats
take the place of a servant's heart. You can count on it, if a teachable
spirit is absent, pride is present. If he or she refuses to listen to
your words of concern, leave! Exclusiveness: It's the
we-alone-are-right-about-everything syndrome. Watch out when everything
gets inbred, prompting a clannish, cliquish, closed mentality. Taken to
an extreme, you'll be encouraged to break long-term commitments with
your mate, family members, or friends. Paranoia becomes pronounced. If
the leader is becoming the sole dispenser of truth, leave! Greed: It's red-flag time when the emphasis frequently
returns to money...especially funds that wind up in the leader's pocket.
Pay attention to growing attitudes of fiscal secrecy and financial
policies that aren't open for discussion. Dependable, God-honoring
leaders aren't motivated by the bucks. If your is and won't change,
leave! Sensuality: Immorality and God's blessing cannot
coexist. Any leader who promotes, laughs at, flirts with, or practices
sexual looseness--or is too familiar with the same or opposite sex--is
playing with fire, and you are going to get burned. If there's an
absence of moral purity, leave! Unaccountability: Beware of the touch-me-not guru who
operates in his (or her) own world claiming, "I am God's anointed! I
answer only to Him!" No matter how gifted, competent, or popular, no one
can maintain godly leadership without faithful counsel and occasional
confrontation from objective, wise, truth-talking confidants. If your
leader is totally unaccountable, leave! Rationalization: When wrong is justified, when plausible
but untrue reasons for conduct are used, when scriptural truth is
twisted to fit a lifestyle that lacks credibility, stop your support.
Leave! Too strong? Not really. Deadly poison that blinds needs a strong
antidote. I can think of over 900 people who, if they could, would say I
haven't been strong enough. Chuck Swindoll
Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And
if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.
Matt
15:14
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