Woke to da Bougie Church by Distinguishing Tares from Wheat: Love Bombing by the Traditional Church. (Article #2)
Woke to da Bougie Church by Distinguishing Tares from Wheat: Love Bombing by the Traditional Church
Article #2:
Okay! Praise God! Y’all decided to come back. Well then, let’s go…let’s go…let’s go…
If this article is your first stop on my MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION (2 Corinthians 5:18-19) train, you might want to check out Article #1 (Disengaging from the Manipulations of the Traditional Church) so you can see where this train is headed.
Ya see, this ain’t no slow diesel “choo choo train.” We’re on a high-speed maglev train, and I’m slowing down just long enough to let you on board because you and I got work to do.
Our train’s final destination is the de-weaponization of the name of Christ by distinguishing tares from wheat. Today’s stop: love bombing by the traditional church.
Due to the high speeds, I’d like to take a quick moment to provide my fellow passengers with a railroad map to assist in our travels together. Hopefully, with this map, you’ll easily process the many dynamics we will be discussing in our journey so that we embrace the liberty (Galatians 2:4) that we have in Christ as our cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20).
So, here is your map:
You will discover that manipulators in the traditional Church function from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, while Disciples of Jesus Christ function from the Tree of Life. The former utilizes a divisive “Good Us/Bad Them” mindset, and fear keeps people connected to the wrong tree. Keep this map in front of you as we move forward, and you will be conscious of where we are.
Here we go!
Today, we are addressing how the traditional Church uses LOVE BOMBING.
On an individual level, love bombing is an attempt to influence a person by overwhelming demonstrations of attention and affection. The term can be used positively or negatively, but for the purposes of this article, I am referring to the manipulative use of excessive flattery to gain control. The key words are to gain control.
The best lies are the ones that are closest to the truth—love bombing within the church is an excellent example of that. Love bombing is not REAL love! God is REAL love. We are called to love because we are His disciples. This is why specificity is imperative for the Body of Christ in this season. Religious generalities enable tares to thrive among the wheat. We need to focus on the human mindsets that would manipulate the person and message of Christ for personal, financial, and POLITICAL gain.
In preparation for this article, I researched other pieces about love bombing on an institutional level. Some authors referred to religious cults where an individual is so void of love and appreciation that they fall victim to the accolades of a “spiritual” leader. This leader fills their hearts with a toxic love designed to create dependency and control. Although I certainly believe this type of love bombing exists, I don’t believe it is prevalent in the traditional Christian Church today. Most Christians I know would spot that kind of love bombing a mile away. No, the love bombing I am referring to is far more subtle, more insidious, and more demonic.
The love bombing that is going on in the traditional Church is a dark amalgamation that feeds a person’s ego. It exerts control by validating the darker parts of our thoughts and behaviors. It facilitates a dependency and emotional entanglement by gratifying the human soul with pride and self-righteousness, just like the Sadducees and Pharisees of the Bible (the group of people that challenged Christ the most).
Self-righteousness occurs when a person views themselves as being more superior than others. It validates one group of people by invalidating another. Self-righteousness is a toxic form of self-love, self-gratification, and self-glorification that credits one’s own self for their knowledge, status, or abilities while simultaneously DISCOUNTING others for their perceived lack of the same. Self-righteousness cannot survive without a counterweight, an inverse, or a contrary.
Remember that although tares look (or sound) like wheat, THEY ARE WEEDS! Weeds thrive by FEEDING off other plants. This is exactly what self-righteousness does: it feeds the self by villainizing others.
This is different from being the righteousness of God by faith in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:9). When we are righteous by faith in Christ, there is no other form of measurement by which we accomplish our righteousness (Romans 3:22). However, when a person is self-righteous, their righteousness is measured in comparison to another person or group.
So, ask yourself…
What do you think happens to a group of people who come to genuinely believe themselves to be better than someone else? What comes from being fed a constant Sunday morning diet of “We are better than they are?” What is the political ideology of a person who is convinced that they have an exclusive one-line track to the favor of God? What is the voting pattern of a person who believes that they are more righteous, more superior, more connected to God than the liberals, the Blacks, the Hispanics, and the LGBTQ?
How would that person view those “lesser” (aka lost) individuals? What makes the shortcomings (aka sins) of other people more significant than their own shortcomings? SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS, that’s what!
So, to all the “tares” that may be reading this article, now hear this: this is the line in the sand! The Body of Christ is not taking it anymore! You do not get privatize Christ, manipulate the message of Christ, and think that the Disciples of Christ are going to remain complacently silent. Nope!
To all the wheat that may be reading this article, rise up from the deception and represent the God of Love that lives on the inside of you! You don’t define your perceived righteousness in contrast to someone else’s perceived unrighteousness. Understand that His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:9). We cannot understand or control when or how God chooses to operate in another person’s life. We can only REFLECT (not dictate) how He has chosen to operate in our own life! Understand that Christ RESOLVED the sin issue, not only for you and for me, but for THEM as well.
Commit to receiving the righteousness of God BY FAITH (Galatians 5:5) and refuse the lure of self-righteousness (Romans 10:3)!
If you don’t know, now you know! So, let’s go! Next stop, GASLIGHTING!
Joy Johnson
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