“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.” – Stephen Hawking
“True authority is not given to lead people; it is given to serve them.” – John C. Maxwell
“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God.” – 1 John 4:1
I’ve been working on special project for nearly a year now. It’s taken a ton of time to gather all the necessary interviews, write the script, figure out how each piece fits, and ultimately ensure there’s a clear story being told. It’s been a lot of work – but also a lot of fun.
Interestingly, this process has raised more questions than it has answered. That always seems to be the case when you’re digging into a mystery. You start with a few questions, expecting to find clarity, but instead, you end up with even more questions than when you started. Or maybe the questions themselves change, and somewhere along the way, you realize you weren’t even asking the right ones.
That’s exactly how this journey has unfolded. I started in one place, shifted to another, and ended up somewhere entirely different.
What am I talking about? I realize I’m being a bit coy because this project I’ve been hinting at for months isn’t quite ready yet (soon!). However, the question I want to explore today is broad enough to apply in many different contexts.
When is it God, and when it is just your own ego or desire?
While working on this project, I kept encountering situations where a charismatic leader would say or do something that others didn’t necessarily agree with. In response, the leader would use spiritual language to justify their words or actions. It would sound something like, “God told me,” “It’s God’s will,” or “It’s God’s desire.” This language was often used as a conversation stopper – shutting down debate before it even started.
And really, who’s going to argue? If that’s what God wants, then no matter how uncomfortable it makes me feel, it must be right – so who am I to question it?
But here’s the problem: How do we actually know it’s truly what God wants/ And when situations arise where it’s obvious that a person’s ego has clouded their judgement, how do we challenge them in the moment?