Verify Podcast

A few weeks ago, I stumbled on a story in the book of Acts, how Paul and Barnabas had been going about preaching and healing people and the people were so amazed by their exploits, that they exclaimed, “These men are gods in human form!” The people then went ahead to bring flowers, animals and other materials for sacrifice, to offer worship to Paul and Barnabas (Acts 14:13). Interesting right? But here’s the part of the story that really got my attention. Acts 14:14 says that when Paul and Barnabas heard what was going on, they tore their clothes in dismay and ran out among the people, shouting, 'Friends, why are you doing this? We are merely human beings-just like you!” Obviously shocked and alarmed at the way the people eulogized them, Paul and Barnabas would have nothing to do with the pedestal on which the people were attempting to place them.  Acts 10: 25 & 26 also tell the story of Apostle Peter refusing worship and reminding Cornelius that he was a mere human being.

The reaction of Paul and Barnabas was quite dramatic and I couldn’t help thinking to myself, how that the same situation that played out in the early church, is at play again today, almost two thousand years later. Just like Paul and Barnabas, some clergy men in our day, are on the verge of being worshipped, because of their gifts and aura. I heard of a place in Abuja, Nigeria, where some members are required to kneel as their pastor walks by, and flower petals are thrown on the ground for him to walk on. I also heard someone say concerning his pastor, and to the applause of other church members, “I wish I could worship him because he is worship-able”. (Deep breath) There’s a thin line between honour and worship, and some of these examples show how dangerously close, we may be to crossing that line without knowing.

I know first-hand, the attachment one can have to a spiritual mentor. I have pastors who I also love and respect dearly. But it’s important to be conscious, so that we do not go overboard, not only with our pastors infact, but in all our relationships. And let’s not say these things don’t matter. If it mattered enough to be handled in a certain manner by the leaders of the early church, it should matter to us.

May God help us to be honest enough, to search our hearts, for any way in which we may have given fellow human beings the worship that is due to Him alone. May modern day Church leadership, emulate the examples of the leaders of the early church and reject every form of human adulation, amen.