Christian Living
Bark First At the Man in the Mirror
Years ago when I was visiting my folks in the States, I'd tune in to watch TV preachers. You can't watch colorful preachers on this side of the pond unless you've got satellite TV. Some preachers are only out for money, and others are scripturally off the wall. But others really are worth listening to, if for no other reason than to stimulate you to study the Bible for yourself to get to the bottom of the real truth. Some preachers I found very entertaining, and others were fascinating because they knew their topic well and discussed issues of vital importance to the Body of Christ. I especially enjoyed any programs I could find which dealt with Bible prophecy.
There was one preacher in particular who got my attention because of his way of delivering a sermon. He certainly didn't put you to sleep. "Brother Bark" had the tongue of a Brillo pad. He'd murmur a prayer to open his meeting, read a few verses of scripture, then begin in a calm, controlled voice. He was a great big guy everybody in his sanctuary seemed to look up to. And my, how he would cry out against sin! How wonderful, I thought, that somebody actually dares to speak out so boldly in defense of holiness!
Brother Bark would build up his sermon to a roaring climax. My dad walked into the room, frowning. "Turn him off! I can't take that screaming!" Dad said.
"At least he isn't boring like some preachers I've listened to," I'd say, struggling not to grin at the notion that a little Bible preaching never hurt my dad. But it wasn't long before I had second thoughts about Brother Bark. He began to belittle the folks out in his congregation. Christians coddled their kids these days and didn't beat them enough. When Brother Bark was a boy his dad would wear him out with a razor strap to teach him some respect. Newborn babies might look sweet, but they were really little vipers who just couldn’t wait to get old enough to start sinning. And the sinners Brother Bark despised the most were jobless folks on welfare who worried about how God would provide for them. "There's twelve hours in a working day and six days in a working week! Get to work!" Brother Bark roared. Not to mention the fact he called modern Christians lazy hot tub saints who'd be lucky to get the strip off a tin can as a crown when they got to heaven. And how those self-centered lukewarm Christians neglected their service of God, and didn't live decent Christian family lives, etc.
Well, it seems to me Brother Bark must be awfully poor at math. Once you subtract from his ideal 72-hour working week what's left, that doesn't leave much time for getting involved with a lot of religious activities. Anybody working such long hours and commuting a couple of extra hours every day wouldn't have time to interact much with their own kids before they had to go to bed. And speaking of welfare cases, I think the most shameless kind are those who wear thousand-dollar suits and live in million-dollar mansions. Then they go on TV crying and begging that their ministry is about to go under, and not long after that they'll invite you to come along to join them on their luxury tour of the Holy Land (for the right price, of course!)
One of Brother Bark's favorite targets was overweight women. But I don't guess he'd looked into the mirror long enough to figure out he didn't have much room to talk! Brother Bark frowned most of the time, but that big guy got a real blast out of making others feel small.
I read up on this man and was quite shocked. Why? Not because he isn't perfect. Nobody on earth is. But after all the fiery sermons I'd heard him preach against sin and how ashamed God's people should be of themselves for lacking personal discipline in their lives, I read that he'd left his first wife, whom he'd been married to for many years and who had given him several children. There was nothing wrong with this good Christian woman except Brother Bark had grown tired of her! He later married a much younger woman. After all the crusty sermons he'd preached about how modern Christians are soft and unwilling to suffer for Jesus, Brother Bark wasn't even willing to honor Jesus' commandment to be faithful in his own marriage, even though he had no scriptural grounds for divorce!
I read some articles which have led me to wonder why divorce is so popular among preachers who preach the loudest against it. These men lament satan's attack on the Christian home even while they're happily dismantling their own. One popular Bible scholar is on his fourth wife now. Polygamy still exists, though harem members are married one at a time.
Seems to me that if these popular preachers really did believe the real Jesus of the Bible is about to come back soon, they'd be more careful to practice what they preach.
• * * * *
• [email protected]
• http://www.kingdomageministry.com
• http://toughlovebook.tripod.com
• http://boogerbucks.tripod.com
PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
Reader Count & Comments
Date
The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com. This is especially true with articles that
deal with personal healthcare and prophecy. We encourage the reader to make their own decision in consultation with God, His Word, and others as needed.
This article has been read 875 times < Previous | Next >
Read more articles by Patricia Backora or search for other articles by topic below.
This article has been read 875 times < Previous | Next >
Search for articles on: (e.g. creation; holiness etc.)
Read more by clicking on a link:Free Reprints
Main Site Articles
Most Read Articles
Highly Acclaimed Challenge Articles.
New Release Christian Books for Free for a Simple Review.
NEW - Surprise Me With an Article - Click here for a random URL
God is Not Against You - He Came on an All Out Rescue Mission to Save You
...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 2 Cor 5:19
Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38
LEARN & TRUST JESUS HERE
FaithWriters offers Christian reading material for Christian readers. We offer Christian articles, Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction, Christian Bible studies, Christian poems, Christian articles for sale, free use Christian articles, Christian living articles, New Covenant Christian Bible Studies, Christian magazine articles and new Christian articles. We write for Jesus about God, the Bible, salvation, prayer and the word of God.