Those people who make religion their livelihood are particularly at risk of setting up themselves as models of God s favor. After all it s easy to believe that you have some special connection to God when everyone treats you as if you do, putting you on a pedestal, lifting you high above the fray, eagerly rushing over to greet you in the market, hoping that you will pray for them. It s easy to believe that the pedestal that comes from high religious office is something you really deserve. It s easy to believe that people come out that door after to church to see me, rather than realizing I m standing between the sanctuary and the nearest restroom. I ve always thought that the higher one goes in the ecclesiastical food chain, the more public one s work becomes and the longer are the prayer you are expected to pray, the more confession ought to be required.
Authority ought to be marked with an equal amount of vulnerability.
The same is probably true of those in congregations. The temptation, especially if we give a lot of money or spend a lot of time volunteering in the church, is to believe that we stand more at the center of church life. And it may be true that the more money we give, the more dependent the institution of the church is on us. Most of us enjoy feeling needed and important. However, lots of activity, endless slick words and polished prayers or sizable gifts given do not ensure that love is embodied or that graceful generosity is present.