Why do godly ministers sometimes go bad? This question is underpinned by my theological belief that freewill is not removed by our faith in Jesus. My father was in the military with a man who followed Jim Jones. He got out of the cult just before the remaining members drank the Kool-Aid. He believed that Jim Jones started as a Christian preaching the gospel; but that is not where he ended up. Jim Jones ended up as an evil man who led hundreds to their deaths. Somewhere in his walk with Jesus he strayed onto the path of unrighteousness. He did not make an instantaneous decision to reject Christ and embrace evil. It was a slow process; he failed to recognize it himself, and his followers failed to recognize it in him also. It was a process that was deadly. We cannot know the details of his wayward journey, but this text in John gives us information about how such a thing is possible.

John the Baptist’s followers were jealous of Jesus. They wanted John the Baptist to denounce Jesus and his followers. They were at this time following a human leader and not the son of God. Their blind devotion could have tempted John to bask in their adoration. When people admire us it feels good and it is tempting to accept it even when it is not right. John did not give into temptation, but rather he pointed out that Jesus, not himself was the Messiah. He also pointed out that the bride, (the church), belong to the bridegroom and not to the friend who attends to the bridegroom. The attendant’s joy comes from his relationship with the bridegroom, not from his relationship with the bride. The attendant steps into the shadows in order that the bridegroom may be in the spotlight.

Pastors, and church leaders are attendants to Christ; they are not replacements for Christ. Accepting glory, or giving glory to another that belongs to Jesus, is a first step on the path to destruction.