Some Christians are so doctrinally vacuous and theologically eccentric that they embarrass the rest of the Christian community and frustrate the true work of the Gospel. You know the type; they are zealous for God but they say and do things that are so nutty that they become distractions to good works. Most people just excuse them as religious whackos but some really do think that these screwballs are representative of all Christians.
Walter owned an apartment building in Houston. One day, in a "vision," he claims that God showed him a “mission” and instructed him to transform his entire complex into a home for distressed people after some tornadoes had struck the area.
So he opened his doors to the poor, stopped paying the bills and appeared on television to tell the world of his plans. Soon, sixty-four poor and homeless families moved in to live rent-free. Before long, the utility companies cut off services and the bank started the foreclosure.
The grumbling, raw tempered residents, mostly unemployed, sweltered inside the dark apartments without air conditioning in the summer heat wave. Walter was convinced that th
e problems were only temporary; the residents were just worried because "they lacked faith” But Walter “walked in the faith of Jesus Christ,” laying claim on his belief that there would be no foreclosure; the utilities would be restored and all the bills would be paid.
Walter trusted God to unite the Christian community and believed the donations would roll in to provide the $440,000 he needed to pay off the mortgage and all his other debts including $23,000 in utility bills, back payments on his personal residence and $24,000 that he owed on a Mercedes Benz (after all, God wants His people to be rich). His public appeals finally netted him a whopping $150.00 worth of donated food and $40 in cash.
Walter was sincere but he was sincerely wrong and he did irrational things all in the name of faith. The poor showed up; the money did not. Walter lost his property, the world laughed, and the name of Jesus Christ was ridiculed.
Walter owned an apartment building in Houston. One day, in a "vision," he claims that God showed him a “mission” and instructed him to transform his entire complex into a home for distressed people after some tornadoes had struck the area.
So he opened his doors to the poor, stopped paying the bills and appeared on television to tell the world of his plans. Soon, sixty-four poor and homeless families moved in to live rent-free. Before long, the utility companies cut off services and the bank started the foreclosure.
The grumbling, raw tempered residents, mostly unemployed, sweltered inside the dark apartments without air conditioning in the summer heat wave. Walter was convinced that th
e problems were only temporary; the residents were just worried because "they lacked faith” But Walter “walked in the faith of Jesus Christ,” laying claim on his belief that there would be no foreclosure; the utilities would be restored and all the bills would be paid.Walter trusted God to unite the Christian community and believed the donations would roll in to provide the $440,000 he needed to pay off the mortgage and all his other debts including $23,000 in utility bills, back payments on his personal residence and $24,000 that he owed on a Mercedes Benz (after all, God wants His people to be rich). His public appeals finally netted him a whopping $150.00 worth of donated food and $40 in cash.
Walter was sincere but he was sincerely wrong and he did irrational things all in the name of faith. The poor showed up; the money did not. Walter lost his property, the world laughed, and the name of Jesus Christ was ridiculed.
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