"Spiritual Molestation" by Shawn Cuthbertson

After watching and reading reports over the past few years concerning the Catholic church and the molestation of children by perverted, demon possessed priest I began thinking of the scars that those young people will live with and are living with. I have often said that the greatest trust that you ever invest in anyone (besides the saving trust in Jesus Christ and His shed blood) is spiritual trust. It is even greater than trust spouses have for each other. As sad and horrific as these reports are I also began thinking about the hollow eyes that I have seen in Christian's who have been spiritually molested.

The word 'molest' means "to annoy, disturb, or persecute especially with hostile intent or injurious effect".  It also means to violate or interfere with that which does not belong to you. I am greatly concerned with the Spiritual Molestation that has, does and is taking place on many of God's people. I have seen good, godly Christian's have to leave a church and even leave the job they have and move to another city. Why? The same reason that these people who have been sexually molested have to uproot their lives many times and move across country to get a new start on life in order to put behind them the pain. Now please understand that those who have been molested, and I have counseled many people.  Families and even those in my extended family carry a thorn in their side that never goes away. I am not making small of their suffering, however often, as terrible it is, those who have been physically molested move, start over and are not followed by the person who injured them. However, I am seeing something in our "circles" that is even more frightening.

There are men of God who did not run with the "right crowd" who have been Spiritually Molested (REMEMBER MOLEST MEANS TO HARASS, IRRITATE, TO WEAR OUT, EXHAUST AND TORMENT PERSISTENTLY). They try to do the right thing and be peaceful, however every move they make, every word they speak, every place they go they are molested spiritually until they give up. My dear brethren the majority of our efforts to reach the lost and see revival in America and around the world is thwarted by hollow hearts of men, women, boys and girls who have had their souls, their spiritual lock box violated by lies, gossip, slander and verbal venom. I dare say that right now each one of you who read this can think of at least a half a dozen times in your Christian lives where your heart and soul has been violated and molested by lies and slander. What makes it worse is those who are guilty of this are allowed to go on and on and on to destroy others. Why is this?

1. Their INFLUENCE: I have preached in churches and been amazed at the circle of respect and influence that the pastor seem to have, except among his member's and at times his own family. There are many men of God in this country that have done great works for the Lord in the past and it seems that because of this they are allowed to continue to lie, slander and SPIRITUALY MOLEST other's. No one is willing to separate from men like this because they want to benefit their ministries from the influence of these men. Many evangelist see it and will not separate because of meetings, missionaries need support and other pastor's need the fellowship. I know a dear preacher that was forces out of his church because he could not take the attacks. He moved to another city and went to join another IFBC, but was told he could not join. He asked, "what have I done", the other pastor said, "Nothing, however I don't want to upset (the man's former pastor).

They are not challenged or separated from because....

2. Their IMAGE: Just because a man of God can "bring the house down" at a Camp Meeting or "Bring the money in" at a Stewardship Conference or "Have them weeping at the Altar" at a Mission's Conference and creates this image of "one of the backbones of Fundamentalism" it does not mean he can "black list" other preacher's that don't kiss his feet or follow his direction. I have heard statements at conferences about men of God like "This is one of the finest men of God I know" or "I don't know where we would be without a man like _______" Then I run into people who have been member's of their church and find out what kind of pain they carry around from the SPIRITUAL MOLESTATION they have gone through.

Why are they allowed to continue?

3. Their Intimidation: This word also means to browbeat, bulldoze and bully. All of these verbs all mean to frighten into submission or compliance. Intimidate implies the presence or operation of a fear-inspiring force. It is illustrated by a lawyer "browbeating" a witness into confusion, fear and submission. OH GOD IN HEAVEN how I have seen these underhanded tactics used. There are young couples who have been told that God has shut up their womb because they won't teach a Sunday School class or they fill like God wants them to move. I have seen parents called into the pastor's office and told that God was going to kill their children because the Dad worked a double shift and missed men's prayer meeting. I have seen young preacher's come all but pulling the trigger and blowing their brains out because of the bulldozing, bully, intimidation they have endured. I have seen wives lock themselves in their bedrooms and cry for days because of lies, slander and gossip used to intimidate them.

I have seen men that were supposed to be as close of friends to other preacher's, but then cut them off, never return phone calls and betray their preacher friend because these men of Influence and Image have spread lies on someone.  What is sad they never call the victim to find out the truth.  WHAT IS THIS?  THIS IS SPIRITUAL MOLESTATION AND IT HAS SPREAD ALL ACROSS THIS NATION.

LET ME CLOSE BY SAYING. I DO NOT CARE IF 5,000 PEOPLE A WEEK WALKS TO THE ALTAR, IF A CHURCH SUPPORTS 1,000 MISSIONARIES, IF A PASTOR RIGHTS THOUSANDS OF BOOKS OR IS INVITED TO EVERY CONFERENCE IN AMERICA. JESUS STILL SAID THAT THE WORLD WOULD KNOW YOU ARE MY DISCIPLE BECAUSE YOU LOVE ONE ANOTHER

PART 2.

I wanted to finish part two of my post concerning Spiritual Molestation. In this entry I would like to just share some information that has helped me. Let me just begin by emphasizing that some of my entries concerning the hurt that comes from "Lording" pastor's and dictatorships are not the norm, Praise God! However, if these issues are not addressed then the wounds never get healed. In fact let me say that if you don't get these wounds bound then you are going to die without ever knowing the joy of a Spirit filled life. I have found that if you leave these wounds unattended you run the risk of and INFECTION. That one wound that we may receive can end up infecting every area of our spiritual life, family life, work life, emotional and mental life. This is what I have found to help.

1. INTERCEDE for those who have wounded you. Often, I have found, that those who are spiritually abused and wounded are made to feel like they are powerless. That is what spiritual intimidation does. However, you and I as a child of God are not powerless. The greatest power that you and I have is the power of interceding for others. No matter how small and insignificant you may feel, no one has the authority to keep you from praying. Many times people who have been spiritually wounded don't feel like they can't talk to the preacher or person who demeans them. BUT PRAISE GOD WE HAVE ACCESS TO THE THRONE. Start praying for those that hurt you.

2. IMMERSE yourself in the word of God. Another aspect of being spiritually wounded is that people who are wounded shy away from the Word of God. They do this because the Bible is often used to beat them up and tear them down and they never get fed, edified, lifted up out of the valley's. Now I am for ripping the hide off the beast of sin, however I know Christians that very rarely, if ever, do they hear of the riches of the Christian life or how they can live the victorious life. Get in the word of God and let God's word rebuild your life.

3. IGNORE every attack, slander and gossip concerning you: There is an interesting word in the Bible that we don't hear much about. It is the word AVOID. The Bible talks about "avoiding vain babblings" The word avoid means "to prevent the occurrence or effectiveness of" Those who intimidate and "Lord" over their member's know how to humiliate and dominate other's. As long as you engage with these type of people then it will only get worse, make you worse and make those around you worse. By ignoring or avoiding it you defuse the dynamite that keeps blowing up in your face. The word Avoid also means to "empty". By ignoring and avoiding you begin to empty yourself of the pain, anger, bitterness and malice that will only make you miserable. By the way, a synonym for the word Avoid is the word escape.

I have been through this.  You can make it through.

Also By Shawn Cuthbertson:

This is a post in defense of all the preacher's and children of God who have done nothing but do exactly what the Bible instructs us all to do, "be filled with the Spirit", and let God direct their lives. Because of this there have been times that the leading of God was contrary to what other's may have told them. This post is in defense of all the children of God who had to sit in a church pew and listen to their preacher say things such as, "God will never tell you to do something that He has not told me first". This post is in defense of the children of God who have left the humiliation and hurt of "Lords" that make statements like the preacher in the North East Camp Meeting, who took a Bible and laid it on the altar, knelt down before the Bible and said, "Now folks this Bible represents your Pastor and just like the Bible, whatever He says you should follow"

Why do men of God attack other preacher's and other Christians? First of all they do this because

1. They STOP being students of the Word of God. Most preacher's that have encountered who are negative about everyone who is not like them or who does not lift them up, attack other's and tear down have quit being students of God's word. They pull their sermons off the internet minutes before they mount the pulpit, they rant and rave about some hobby horse that they have self appointed themselves as God's ambassador against things like "Christmas tree's", "Women having their hair colored" and etc... You see when you are a student of God's word then you have humbled and submitted yourself to God, therefore you are not looking to position yourself over others. If you know men of God that attack other's listen to them preach at other places. They preach the same warmed over sermon that they have memorized. They never study and they despise a man of God that comes in an preaches fresh, God given messages.

2. They SURROUND themselves with people who are not very successful. These men create a following of those who are not successful with anything in their lives and they need a "leader" to follow. Every one of these type of men that make attacks on men of God, always have a "cult" like devotion from very spiritual immature people. These are the type of people who give boats, guns, cars, trucks, vacations to their preacher because they fill like it keeps them in favor with the "Leader".

3. They are SCARED that their people will get more from another preacher. By this I mean that these preacher's bring in good men that God is using, usually because they want to make it look like they are close to these men. God uses these men of God and the member's of the church flock to the altar, buy the tapes and began to grow more spiritual than their preacher and that scares the pastor. Then this type of pastor begins to take a microscope to the preacher and find one thing that he can exploit in front of his people to tear down this man of God. They find things like that "their daughter shops at the Mall and bless God that is where the world spends their money" or "I saw his son wear a t-shirt with a NASCAR racer on it and bless God they should not bow down to those idols." Now the entire time their own families are cheating every business owner in town, writing bad checks and sitting in bedrooms alone with the opposite sex or they are so severe of dictator's at home that their own families dread them coming home.

Don't worry about these type of men. God keeps the record. Live an unshackled life for God, find a Man of God who will take the Bible and teach and preach to you how to live according to the Word of God and led by the Spirit of God.