Christian Scam Artists, Con Men and True Servants

I’m a Christian. I love my church, and believe it’s one where the Spirit of God is present. Most of the members, and, in fact, most of the Christians I’ve known have been earnestly trying to follow Jesus and live according to His teachings.

However, there are also scam artists and charlatans among those who call themselves Christian.

No wonder Christ told his followers to be “as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16)

The Bible also teaches us that our hearts are more important than our position. So Jesus was often friends with the least among the populace and was often hated by those who were respected and in leadership positions.

Does this mean that our actions do not matter?

No, but fhere are people who display their good deeds for all to see while there are those who do it anonymously.

But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Matthew 6:3–4

Thus Christ teaches us about the the wolves in our midst — those who will try to fleece us, sometimes taking on the guise of being good Christians to trick us.

There have been business owners who wear their faith on their sleeves. Dig a little deeper, and you will find they use the religious beliefs of others to drum up business. Often they charge more and provide inferior service.

There are also Christian business owners who treat their employees the way Christ would want them to be treated — with respect and Christian love.

I have seen examples of both.

There are also individuals who use your supposedly shared faith to try to manipulate you. Meanwhile, there are others who are honest and trust God to provide — who don’t try underhanded tactics.

While these people have a small radius of influence, unfortunately there are those who manipulate much larger groups.

Television pastors are some of the worse. I remember when Oral Roberts said that if people didn’t send him millions of dollars, God would call him home. His estimated worth before he died was close to $120 million. Meanwhile, many of the people who sent him money were probably poor or working class.

More recently, there was the example of Joel Osteen and Mattress Mack.

After Hurricane Harvey devastated Houston, Mattress Mack provided shelter for hundreds of people at his stores. People who came were told they could sleep on the furniture in the showroom. The stores also have bathrooms, showers, and in-store restaurants which customers were welcome to use.

He not only provided food, shelter, and basic hygiene to people who had been flooded out of their homes, he used his delivery trucks to rescue people.

Some of those taking shelter donated items to help others in need. The sense of community in the face of disaster was beautiful.

Meanwhile, Joe Osteen is the pastor of a mega-church in Houston.His church seats 16,000 people. He has a huge mansion and a private jet. Yet, when asked about his response to the hurricane — he said he and his wife were praying for people.

When asked why he didn’t provide shelter to people who had become homeless, he offered excuses. I’d heard a rumor that he didn’t want people tracking mud onto his newly renovated carpets.

Why did Osteen not do what Mattress Mack did?

Mattress Mack is not a pastor, he doesn’t preach the gospel — he lives it instead.

My own church at the time had a congregation of about 300 people. Most of them were not rich, yet when we heard about the devastation and flooding, we opened our doors to those in need, as we had also done with Katrina.

Cots were set up in the church basement. When this wasn’t enough, several people in the congregation opened their homes, even if all they could offer was a couch or air mattress. Meals and rides were provided to those who needed them.

Other local churches did the same, or helped in other ways. The Baptists sent down cars, rafts, and canoes to rescue people.

These were ordinary people. They did not showboat to the world how Christian they were. They just did what needed to be done to help those suffering from nature’s devastation.

I am fighting stage IV cancer. If you can help with medical bills, I would really appreciate it. Or if you enjoy my writing and would like to buy me a cup of coffee, that’s great too. Maybe someday I can return the favor.

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This post was previously published on Shefali O’Hara’s blog.

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