One of the more cruel abuses of the Honor Academy is blaming the victim. If you are depressed, sick, can’t seem to feel God’s presence, or any other hard situation – it’s usually because you don’t have enough faith, aren’t seeking God enough or you are in sin.
Head on over to itunes and check out Ron Luce’s sermon, “Hearing God’s Voice.” It’s from the “Character Development” class that Ron teaches each week at the Honor Academy. In it, he says something rather odd and cruel. The topic is why you should find your specific purpose in life.
If you get serious about finding out your purpose now, you’ll never go through a mid-life crisis. I promise you. You won’t.
In Ron’s mind, all doubt, confusion or discouragement is your fault. Nevermind that many of God’s people in the Bible experienced those feelings and that God never promises us we won’t go through emotional crisis.
Then he goes on to explain that when you discover your purpose, God grants you extra special protection because He says, “I have a vested interest in that person.”
You get an extra anointing, a mantel of extra protection when you know what you were born to do.
As an example, Ron Luce claims his own brother died in a car accident 15 years ago because he didn’t know his purpose and therefore didn’t have that extra protection.
There are so many problems with this theology that I don’t even know where to start…but here is the one that bothers me most. Ron, how can you suggest that God has a vested interest in one person more than another? Especially on the basis of their “Christian” performance? That is the kind of sick and twisted theology that led me, and countless others, down a path of performance that only leads to despair and confusion.
Another problem with his theology is that it’s not even consistent. What about all the interns that have died during and after their internship? Do you tell their grieving families that if only they had truly known their purpose they would have had the extra mantel of protection? That they would not have died if they had been good enough Christians?
I can’t remember all the names of interns that have passed away…Dan O’Donnell, Jamie the award girl, Michael what’s his name, Sarah Hill, Rachel Barlow…Feel free to remember your friends in the comments.
They deserve to be mourned with dignity and respect, not subject to the idea that their failure to “know their purpose” contributed to their deaths.
