Yesterday news were broadcasted everywhere about the arrest of Pastor Kong Hee and 4 other leaders from City Harvest Church. After that, barrages of comments were made online and offline, both pleasant and unpleasant, from Christians and non-Christians alike. Many were judgmental that a Christian leader should not be doing this and that. Many condemned him and his wife as well.
My mum also discussed with me about the above-mentioned and she was sighing as to how come a leader as prominent as Pastor Kong Hee should be misappropriating church funds for personal gains, etc. At some point, she too became very critical.
When it reached a point where I felt the criticism needed to stop as it was going nowhere, I challenged my mum to consider this statement - "Love the Sinner. Hate the Sin."
To me, we are all no different because we are sinners in the first place. For those of us Christians, yes, we are challenged to live a life of godliness and holiness but like it or not, we are still humans and we are constantly exposed to the lures of this world. At some point or another, we still sin but it is through the cross where Jesus died for all that we are forgiven (through the confession and repentance of our sins).
Before we comment further on Pastor Kong Hee and the four leaders, let us examine ourselves whether we are any different from them. They may have misappropriated $26.6 million dollars but was there a time when you had taken something in which no one saw or knew - for example, a stationery item or items from the office; or taken your parents' or friends' money without their knowledge; or a cutlery set from the airplane you were on while heading to a holiday destination; etc?
That action is called STEALING. Yes, it may not be worth the millions but stealing is stealing. A sin is a sin. Period.
We are always very quick to judge but let us learn to always take a step back before we even attempt to say or do anything.
I am equally guilty of this but let us learn from this episode the need to exercise restraint.
Pastor Kong Hee and the four other leaders need our love and support during this period. It does not mean we condone their actions. We just need to help each other in our pilgrim's journey so that we do not fall deeper into sin but to get out of it.
If we call ourselves brother or sister-in-Christ to another, let us be ready to rebuke and correct each other in love. If we call ourselves friend to another, let us stand by him or her even when a mistake is made and help the individual through this moulding process. At some points of our lives, we may need someone else to help us overcome our shortcomings too.
Well, I felt the need to share the above-mentioned.
“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams." 1 Samuel 15:22
“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” John 8:7b
“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” John 8:7b
