“Shepherd the flock of God among you…not for sordid gain, but with eagerness….” (I Peter 5:2).
“Will a man rob God?” (Malachi 3:8). Of course, it happens all the time. For most, it happens when they keep for themselves God’s tithes and offerings. However, every year hundreds of pastors go to jail for embezzling God’s money from their churches.
How does this happen? How could a God-called pastor fleece God’s sheep?
Aside from the spiritual considerations, two large things keep me from stealing millions from my church: 1) I would not know how, or even where to begin, and 2) my church has structures in place to safeguard the Lord’s money. (My pastor will read this and think, “I can tell you another: We don’t have millions of dollars!” True enough. But that’s not the point. Smiley-face goes here.)
So how do people manage to pull off such grand thefts of God’s money?