Thou Shalt Not Schadenfreude

 Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines the term Schadenfreude as enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others.

Scandals and exposures of prominent Christian leaders bring out the snark in unbelievers and those who have left the faith who are all too happy to gloat and demand all of the gory details for entertainment purposes and to affirm their stance against Christianity. 

“Surely nobody who follows Jesus would ever engage in schadenfreude!” we exclaim

Unfortunately, those of us who are followers of Jesus also can become tempted to be smug and satisfied that our discernment was spot on about Pastor Hypocrite, and we always knew something just wasn’t right. 

I was raised in the church and have seen my fair share of leaders and members falling from grace. Admittedly, I was one of the people who became smug and satisfied that my suspicions about Pastor Crook were correct. Now that I am older and more mature in years and the faith, I understand how wrong it is to have that attitude.  

Exposures, scandals, and ministry collapses are devastating to the body of Christ, and we must treatt them as such.

In most cases, there were warning signs that something was amiss, but in others, the scandal appears to come out of the blue. 

 I truly believe God is merciful, and he gives people chance after chance to stop whatever it is they are doing, repent, and get right with Him. Unfortunately, our carnal nature assures us that if we haven’t been caught this far, we’ll get away with it.  

The scriptures warn us that whatever is done in the dark will eventually come to the light. In Luke 12:2-3, Jesus warns  His disciples about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees in Luke 12:2-3

 

 2 The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all. 3 Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear!

 Don’t be deceived, friends; secret sins will eventually come to light without repentance!

The hour is late, and God is preparing to pour out his spirit again. This demands a holy and pure church. I’m afraid that we will soon start seeing ministries and prominent leaders fall because there is no longer time to play games in the church. The bride of Christ is being prepared as the Lord prepares to return for a church without spot or wrinkle. 

Consider it a warning that we may even see people in our spaces be found out and exposed.  People who we trust and admire may be exposed to living double lives.

I want to be clear that I am not talking about RUMORS and malicious gossip. I am talking about facts that have been confirmed by those in leadership who are now taking appropriate measures to address the situation.

I gave a message about how the Fear of the Lord must return to our churches if we want to see a genuine and sustained move of God.  The Holy Spirit will not dwell in environments openly tolerating and allowing sin to stay in their midst because He is HOLY. 

I have prayed for the Lord to have mercy on his church and that we would repent. I don’t want to see a tragic event or an awful exposure to bring back the Fear of the Lord and take God seriously again in our churches.

How should we respond when we hear about these unfortunate scandals, failings, and exposures?

Thou Shalt Not Schadenfreude.

Our first Posture should be grief.

Our first posture should be grief. We should be grieved because real people and their lives have been affected. If there are victims, then we should suffer that people have been harmed. We must pray that victims receive healing, care, and support.

 ​​Whenever I hear about scandals and exposure, I always think about the spouses, children, grandchildren, other family members, and friends who are connected to these people. I also think about those who have volunteered countless hours, invested money, and trusted that everything was on the up and up.  It is easy to forget that it’s not just about the person who fell from grace but how many others have been hurt and embarrassed by their actions.

The Lord does not rejoice in our sufferings. He is compassionate and gives us every opportunity to repent and get right. The scriptures say Jesus took compassion on the people. Like Jesus, we should be brokenhearted and grieved to see lives destroyed because of sin.

I listened to Dr. Michael Brown’s podcast, “The Line of Fire,” as he discussed a recent ministry failure, and I was moved to hear how grieved he was to hear about what happened.  He was in tears as he talked about how this would affect the people and how it grieved the Lord to see what was happening with this ministry that has touched so many.  I took it as a personal example of how to respond to these challenging situations.

Support victims and don’t minimize the situation. 

If there are victims, then they must receive full support and care.  We must not use spiritual language to minimize the situation and pretend all is well.  Let’s pray for victims, and if we were in a relationship with those who have suffered, we must continue as best we can to let them know we’re still there for them and not leave them isolated.

We must not let our loyalty to institutions or people in those institutions override compassion for victims.

Acknowledge reality and No business as usual.

If your body sustains a physical injury, the worst thing you can do is ignore it and keep going. You must take care to address the injury and do what’s necessary to begin healing the injury. You will start to compensate because you lack proper mechanics and range of motion due to injury.  Eventually, those compensations will lead to more significant problems, OR you’ll be in so much pain that you’ll have to stop anyway.

The same thing will happen in ministry if we do not acknowledge the reality of the situation and decide to keep going with business as usual. Leaders and members are hurting, confused, and angry when a scandal happens.  We must address what’s happened and rest in the Lord for His wisdom on how to proceed in the days ahead.

Instead of pretending that all is well and continuing with business as usual, Bring in professionals and mature people in the faith to begin the healing process.  Allow people to vent, speak freely, and confess sin in their own lives to encourage restoration and reconciliation. 

Evaluate the entire ecosystem and pray for wisdom on how to move forward.

I don’t believe scandals happen in a vacuum.  Generally, the entire ecosystem is unhealthy, with a lack of accountability and too many decisions made in secret without transparency.  

After a major scandal and fall from grace, it’s essential to evaluate the entire ecosystem's health, assess leadership teams, check for blind spots, and pray for wisdom on having safeguards to minimize the risk of future scandals. 

If leaders want to regain the trust of their members, then they must be accountable to their congregations. I want to emphasize congregations and not social media.  

We do not need to tell social media all of the gory details, particularly if sensitive information needs to remain private.  Social media content creators love negative news; the more salacious, the better.  We do not need to feed that beast.  Our priority must be the victims and healing our congregations.  We will need heavenly wisdom to accomplish this.

James said if we need wisdom, we need to ask  God for it.  

James 1:5-6

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 

Some situations are so awful that only wisdom and revelation from above can advise on what to do.

“There but for the grace of God go I.”

C.S. Lewis calls Pride “The Great Sin.”  The Bible says that Pride goes before a fall.  When we hear of falls from grace and terrible scandals, remember that all of us can make poor choices. 

If you think, “That will never happen to me because I would never do that,” then you’re a prime candidate for the enemy to target because you think you’re strong enough.  Just like Peter, before Jesus went to the cross, he was sure that even if everyone else denied Jesus, he would be the last man standing. 

Welp we sure saw how that turned out!  (Matthew 26:33-35)

I have seen people go down that had everybody SHOOK.  NOBODY would have guessed they were living double lives. None of us are immune to making poor choices. Continue to pray to God for wisdom to make the right choices and for strength and His grace to keep you.

We are in a time when the refiner’s fire appears to be making its way through theory, purifying us, and getting the church back on track. 

I encourage you to keep your eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, and not on people. I will encourage you to stand firm in prayer because spiritual warfare intensifies as we begin to see the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon this generation. 

Let us have the mind of Christ and not engage in Schadenfreude like the world does. 

 May the God of heaven strengthen you in the days ahead!