The Passion in Gold and Diamonds

I dislike criticizing ministries and their leaders for several reasons:

1. There’s a bandwagon approach, in which everyone piles on a vulnerable leader and repeats the stories
2. There’s a tendency to lack discernment about rumors, i.e. everyone repeats what is said about someone, especially someone who deserves criticism, but doesn’t do good fact and context checking
3. There’s a tendency to throw the first stone without checking one’s own sins first

In the case of Benny Hinn I would add one more. During my son James’s illness he was greatly encouraged through something that Benny Hinn said and did on his television show. James wasn’t a regular watcher, but came across it late one night when he was in distress and couldn’t sleep. It was not the false encouragement of telling him he wasn’t going to die, but the very real encouragement of knowing God was with him. It took me some time to accept this as I have numerous and profound differences with Benny Hinn in both doctrine and practice. Nonetheless I treasure every moment of encouragement that was given to James during that time.

Having said all of that, I think the same principle applies here as I applied to prophecy in my post Say Not to Prophecy before you say Yes over on my Participatory Bible Study blog. The problem is that if we only affirm, we often so corrupt the good that we do more damage than if we simply shut everything down.

With this, let me introduce the following video, with hat tip to The Church of Jesus Christ blog:

There was one point in there that really blew my irony meter. It comes about 4:50 into the video when one of the medallions, which appear to me to have four figure price tags, is described as “the passion in gold and diamonds.” That is both ironic, and to me profoundly offensive. It leads me to wonder just what certain Christian leaders think before they do these things, or if they even think about the impact such actions have on the gospel.

I have enough problem with gold and silver crosses. Recently my pastor came down out of the pulpit and pointed to the gold cross on the table. “The cross isn’t like this one,” he said. So true. Unfortunately, church custom insists on unrealistically beautiful crosses.

When we were recently setting up the table for the release of Megabelt, the book by Nick May, we were looking for a good symbol. My wife asked for a large, fancy, belt buckle to use on the display. I suggested that if we could find a good looking buckle with a cross on it, it would make the point perfectly. Both my wife and daughter told me I wouldn’t find one, but I still checked the local Christian store, and sure enough, there amongst many “Christian” trinkets there was a golden belt buckle with a cross on it. I’m sorry that in order to have it as a decoration I had to encourage the designers with a sale.

“The passion in gold and diamonds.” What has the church that claims to follow one who had no place to lay his head come to?