The lawsuit against Victoria Osteen is over with the jury finding in favor of Osteen.  I admit that I have not followed this case very closely and know very little about what took place during the trial.  What did catch my attention about this case was a CNN headline: Mega-preacher's wife sued over loss of faith.

My immediate reaction was, "Whoa! What??"  The lesson to be learned from this case against the Osteens runs much deeper than whether Mrs. Osteen acted out in anger.  The lesson is one of power, and how much of it we allow others to wield over us. 

We rely on our ministers to teach us and guide us in our Christian walk, but we should not depend on them for our decision to hold to our faith.  Our belief in God cannot depend on another human being, but rather the truth of God we hold in our own hearts and the leading of the Holy Spirit.  Televangelists, mega-church leaders, and the pastor down the street are only human, just as we are.  They have their own struggles and trials, their own confusions and their own failings.  Some of them do appear to be closer to God than the average layman.  Others are so far away from the Lord that they have led hundreds or even thousands into evil along with them. 

Don't let another person decide your faith for you.  Christ gives each and every one of us the opportunity for a personal relationship with Him.  Keep your eyes and your heart on the Lord not on another person, preacher or no.  "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6)  Jesus is the only man to walk the earth without sin.  Never elevate any other man or woman to equality with Jesus, and never allow a sinner to be the foundation of your faith. 

Bookmark with: