Responding to Abuse: God’s got it covered.
By Darren Moore
It is always sad to read of abuse in the church whether it is an abuse of power as an end in itself, or whether it leads to other kinds of abuse such as financial or sexual abuse. One aspect of the sadness is that it won’t be the last time we hear of it. The sad thing, as I write, is that there is a timeless quality to it. It seems a sad unifying feature of Church polities.
Another sadness is the failure of others to report it (granted, not everybody in every case knew everything). Why would anyone cover it up? Especially given the repeated Biblical theme of God’s hatred of injustice, where the guilty get away with it and the innocent suffer. It seems that there is an underlying fear that such reporting would undermine the organisation and any past good done, rock people’s faith and ultimately bring God’s name into disrepute. Of course, it’s always far worse in the end for the cover-up.
Is there any encouragement for those feeling such fear? Yes, God would rather be dishonoured than have a cover-up in his name, even if he is the one that has to bring that disgrace about. We see this in 1 Samuel.
The books of Samuel are not short of scandal. In 2 Samuel David abuses his power with Bathsheba and Uriah arguably leading to the even more shocking scandals of Amnon and Absalom. Right near the start of 1 Samuel we see how God views abuse and failure to deal with it. 1 Samuel 2:12-36 Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, abuse their position as Priests for material gain and sex. Eli fails to do anything about it. We see the extent of God’s displeasure in 1 Samuel 4, where Israel takes the Ark into battle, carried by, of all people, Hophni and Phinehas. Their attitude is superstitious as if carrying the Ark regardless of the moral condition of those holding it, or the spiritual state of the nation, would be overlooked by God.
Hophni and Phinehas die in battle, the Ark is captured and Eli dies on hearing the news. The message is clear: God withdraws his presence and would rather be shamed in front of the Philistines than be used by superstitious Israel and immoral Priests. This is the cost of not dealing with abuse. Applying to the contemporary church is straightforward: God would rather be mocked in the broadsheets than allow abuse in his church. Don’t sit on these things, don’t cover them up, deal with them and fast.
Are the rest of us any better? We see a stark warning in Israel’s attitude to the Ark. We march out thinking if we do expository preaching and put on Christianity Explored courses (I commend both, to different degrees) the Lord will bless us…regardless. Whilst, at the same time, we criticise churches less sound for being technique-based and worldly. This plays out within Evangelical circles when we feel we need to cling to power and control (of which 1 and 2 Samuel has much to say). This is seen in multiplying organisations that do essentially the same work, constantly reinventing the wheel (but it is our wheel).
Is there any hope for us? There is. Israel had broken the covenant with God, the sanction for which is exile. But, in 1 Samuel 4 Israel isn’t exiled, the Ark standing in their place points us to the cross where there is forgiveness and restoration. Hope not just for the abused, but for the penitent abuser. The cross is weak and foolish at first glance, but it is where our real power lies.
In Conservative Evangelical circles, we use the right vocabulary, “trust God’s ways, not our strength.” That means more than just expository preaching and being sound. It means coming broken and weak. That means prayer and Godly character have far higher premiums than we give them.
A lesson we learn in Samuel is that God doesn’t need our help, but we need to do as he commands. When we see sin and abuse in church leadership, don’t worry about God. He’s got it, blow the whistle.
