How would you feel if someone who was a complete stranger to you came to you and began to tell you things about your life, perhaps significant anniversaries, key events, memories, details about your life and your family that you did not expect them to know and there didn’t seem to be any way of them knowing. It seems that only God could have revealed these things to them. You might be a bit freaked out by it, you may also be amazed and you may be inclined to take seriously what they have to say to you.
How would you respond if they then began to encourage you to do things that seemed unwise or put you in danger, spiritually, emotionally, physically? And then how would you feel if one day it turned out that the Lord had not revealed those things to them at all. Rather, they were actually picking up information about you through research. Perhaps they had seen your Facebook profile or had picked up information from observations or overhearing things others were saying and then using clues to build up a picture and make some safe guesses. I suspect that the answer is that you might feel betrayed.
Keen observers will recognise that the scenario I’ve set out bares a lot of similarities to a scandal that has sadly recently hit the church relating to a man with a prophetic ministry called Shawn Bolz. He has been accused, among other things of using social media data minging tools to find out information about people before sharing “words of knowledge” and prophetic insights with them. I don’t really intend to get into the Bolz case here. I do not know enough to make any assessments and besides I don’t think that the case is unique. There have been too many Christians with big name ministries who have fallen and had their reputations destroyed. Bolz isn’t the first and he won’t be the last.
However, I do want to pick up on some issues around the allegation of social media data mining. You may be familiar with the idea of a “mentalist”, a magician who appears to have the ability to read people’s minds. Obviously, in most cases, as with other magicians, we are meant to know that it’s a trick, the person cannot read minds but they have learnt methods to observe people and pick up on clues. It’s all a bit of fun. However, there are also fraudsters around who genuinely claim to be able to read minds, just as there are those who claim the ability to see into the future, clairvoyants and such like. When Christians share words of knowledge are they doing just the same, are they no better than con merchants ?
Well, the first thing to be clear about is that there are fraudsters who prey on church contexts and that means that they will claim spiritual gifts that they do not have, often with an agenda of gaining recognition, influence and money. However, the existence of false prophets does not invalidate the reality of true prophets and prophecy just as we don’t reject the idea of true teachers because there are false teachers.
Furthermore, I would suggest that there are ways in which people can get drawn into deceptive behaviours. If we see the purpose of such kinds of words and messages as a kind of sign, to prove prophetic credentials and gain a hearing, then it can become a performance and for those who have built a whole ministry around it, whether large or small scale may feel the pressure to keep the act up. What if one day, the insights don’t come? Better then maybe to have a back up plan ready and do some research.
However, I would argue that this is neither what words of knowledge or prophecy are about. Indeed, whilst I believe that it is possible to have unexpected insights and information that must have come directly from God, I’m not sure that when Paul talks about words of knowledge that he means this. Rather, he is simply talking about the knowledge , wisdom and the ability to speak these things as gifts.
Furthermore, I would argue that when we are given such insights, the aim is not to show off a gift, nor even to use it as proof, a sign if you like that what we has to say is from God and must be obeyed. We need to examine and evaluate everything anyone says and treat it on its own merits. Rather, the purpose is to being insight into a situation to enable spiritual breakthrough. This should help us to relax. There may be all kinds of ways in which we are given insight into a person’s life. All are valid as long as there is transparency and permission. it doesn’t matter where information comes from, is it available because I’ve read your Facebook posts (with permission), because I’ve read something in your facial/body language/tone/repeated words and phrases, because the Holy Spirit has revealed it to me? Actually none of that matters, what matters is hearing God at this point.
So, don’t worry about whether or not you are getting special information from God about someone, seek rather to know what is helpful and godly to say in a particular situation. And if someone seems to have special insight into your life, don’t automatically assume that you have to accept what they say.
Faithroots 