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What Is Spiritual Abuse?

Dear Friend,

Something just doesn’t seem right about this. Perhaps you’ve thought that before about a church or spiritual leader. Sadly, spiritual abuse occurs far too often. Some “leaders” seek to gain control by manipulating Scripture and twisting truth. When the Word of God is misused or the character of God is misrepresented, people inevitably suffer.

Guilt. Shame. Control. Manipulation. Legalism. Abuse. Sadly, this is what comes to mind when many people think of “church.” If you’ve been hurt by the church or by a spiritual leader, there is hope.

Spiritual abuse can cause a lot of pain and confusion, and the tragedy of spiritual abuse is that it can damage a person’s faith in God. Yet whatever damage has been done ... the Lord can heal, restore, and redeem.

Jesus reserved some of His harshest language for spiritually abusive leaders and yet extended the greatest compassion to those who were hurt by them. If you’ve been hurt by the church or by abusive spiritual leaders, know this: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).

The practice of spiritual abuse has persisted ever since the serpent in the Garden of Eden distorted and lied about God’s words to Adam and Eve. In doing so, he managed to instill doubt in their minds regarding the character of God and His relationship with those He created. The result was that they found the thought of becoming like God more appealing than remaining dependent on God. That thought led them to trust Satan’s words rather than God’s words, and their descendants have struggled with this same problem ever since. The serpent said to Eve . . .

“Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’ . . . ‘You will not certainly die’ . . . ‘For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’” (GENESIS 3:1, 4–5)

Spiritual Abuse

Though the practice is age-old, the term “spiritual abuse” is relatively new. The following definitions explain how spiritual leaders can misuse their position of authority:

Spiritual abuse occurs when someone in a position of spiritual authority misuses that authority to control, coerce, or manipulate others for what seems to be good and godly purposes, but are instead using it for their own self-interest.

Spiritual abuse is the use of religious words or acts to manipulate someone for personal gain or to achieve a personal agenda, thereby harming that person’s walk with God.

Spiritual abuse is often broadly defined as any misuse of Scripture whereby truth is twisted and which may or may not result in harming a person’s relationship with God. The victim in this case may not be an individual, and truth itself. In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul said . . . “We do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God” (2 CORINTHIANS 4:2).

Spiritual abuse is putting confidence in your position of authority and your perceived right to use those under your influence to accomplish your own personal agenda. However, God alone has the right, the wisdom, and the power to accomplish His plans and purposes for those He has created.

CHECK OUT ALL OF THE WOMEN OF FAITH RESOURCES ON SPIRITUAL ABUSE

 

Note: Some content in this article is from the Women of Faith Keys for Living Spiritual Abuse E--book 

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