…when reviled, we bless. 1 Corinthians 4.12
Spiritual abuse is trending. More accurately, calling out spiritually abusive pastors is trending. Good. Wolves in sheep’s clothing need to answer to Jesus and his people. David’s treatment of Bathsheba and Uriah, Ezekiel’s prosecution of false shepherds, and many other stern warnings should sober selfish shepherds. But the scope of Scripture and the history of any congregation more than 10 years old tell more stories of sheep harming shepherds than shepherds harming sheep, which brings us to Paul and the Corinthians. The degradations he catalogs in our passage record sufferings he endured from the world not the Church, but that’s his point. The Corinthians are treating him the way the world does.
Clearly, sheep will strike a shepherd no matter how Good he is. May your flock never turn on you, but do not be surprised if they do.
Paul couldn’t’ have been surprised. He had the authority of an Apostle, but any student of Scripture can see that the minister-member power dynamic is not as asymmetrical as it appears. He knew how Moses was treated in the wilderness and, of course, he knew Jesus suffered the power of the people en extremis. Clearly, sheep will strike a shepherd no matter how Good he is. May your flock never turn on you, but do not be surprised if they do. And above all do not strike back. Paul was obviously hurt by their accusations, but he knew to bless when he was reviled, just as he had been blessed when he reviled Jesus.
