3 Things the Devil Often Uses To Tempt Pastors To Fall

Pastors perform noble tasks as they serve God and humanity in humility, love, faith and other virtues. They are special people filled with the Word of God, Spirit of God and sent with divine message and assignment.

As they perform their sacred duties, so many things are used to tempt them to fall from grace. However, it is known that women, money and fame are the three major things that the devil often uses to entice them.

These are also known as female, finance and fame (3Fs). Satan lures most men of God with these three things to get them off their divine assignments and duties.

Sampson and Solomon fell because of women. The enemy used their wives to influence their sense of judgment against the will of God (Read Judges Chapter 16).

“Now King Solomon loved many foreign women…from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods. Solomon clung to these in love. He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines.

And his wives turned away his heart. For when Solomon was old HIS WIVES TURNED AWAY HIS HEART AFTER OTHER GODS, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father…” (1 Kings 11:1-9).

However, Judas Iscariot, the prophet Balaam (Numbers 22) and Gehazi, the prophet Elisha’s servant (2 Kings 5) were trapped with the love of money. Eventually, they paid dearly for not only loving money but also being greedy.

True prophets of God do not receive money or donations as a condition for offering a prayer for healing as the prophet Elisha did.

Elisha refused Naaman’s free gifts of ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten changes of clothing as payment for healing him of leprosy.

But false prophets heal for money because they are greedy and money-conscious. They love money to the core.

The would-be prophet Gehazi was one of them. He said to himself: “See, my master has spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not accepting from his hand what he brought”.

Gehazi followed Naaman and succeeded in collecting the gifts. But he was not spared as Naaman’s leper clang to him.

Finally, ministers who want to be famous do everything humanly possible to be recognised and followed. Thus, they like to use lofty titles, publicity and other things for media attention so as to be known all over the place.

As they do these things they are tempted to fall from following Christ. In 3 John, we read about Diotrephes, a selfish and proud church leader; he loved fame but was not spared. John condemned the evil acts by which he sought to be known and attracts followers.

He liked to put himself first, did not acknowledge the authority of the apostles, he spoke against them, he refused to welcome visitors, he stopped those who wanted to welcome them and eventually put them out of the church.

By James Quansah