Erika and Televangelists

This is in response to my niece Erika on Facebook regarding televangelists. She said:

those people are corrupt. I think they do it just for the cash. Sad really..

Erika, it's more complex than that. People usually are more complex than they appear, but it's much easier to react to them on the basis of their surface appearance. The media does it all the time, unfortunately.

I think many of them start out sincere, really believing, and feel the need to express that in word and deed. But fame and money usually mean power, and power inevitably corrupts. The problem then becomes one of someone who relies on his or her past reputation as a sincere believer, or relies on the good cause they're supporting, who actually has done good, and because of that becomes very lazy about being vigilant about the state of their own hearts and souls. Because, after all, they're preaching about God and helping others, and so that must mean they're good people, right? Unfortunately, once you start believing in your own goodness and stop questioning your own motivations and actions, it's a sure-fire indication you're going down the path of arrogance and hypocrisy. And that's true whether you believe in God or not, or whether you're religious or not. A lot of people believe that because the cause they champion is just and good, that it bleeds over onto them, and that it must mean they're just and good, too. Well, causes are not you, and you are not your cause. You are a whole different entity from whatever cause you champion.

If you look at the televangelists who have gone through scandal, you'll see that at least at one time they have indeed helped others with the money they've gathered, whether in relief aid or other charitable works. Unfortunately, relying on that as justification of their goodness was their downfall. They began thinking they deserved the good things that came to them, and kept taking more for themselves ("hey, I'm good, I deserve this limousine"), instead of understanding that it was the generosity of others that put them where they were. They stopped being truly vigilant about themselves and looking to see if they could do more good for others, rather than settling for things as they were.

You know the tree by the fruit it bears. But you often have to look past the leaves to see the fruit, or else it's very easy to assume there's none.