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In light of the tweets earlier, seeing spiritually abusive people in so many circumstances has made some of the primary characteristics and behaviors of those particular individuals really clear. Here are ten of them:
1.They tell you that they have truth that you won’t hear anywhere else. They say things like, “you will only hear the real gospel from me,” or “the rest of the church doesn’t really get this.” This serves the purpose of making them indispensable to your spiritual life.
2.Anyone who disagrees with them is divisive. They speak about the devil’s work in conflict in which someone disagrees with them. This signals that to disagree with them is demonic.
3.They use prayer as a weapon. They pray against those who voice contrary opinions, usually subtly, saying things like, “may the lies of the devil be gone from this conflict”
4.They brag about their own spiritual lives often. Sometimes this is obsessive bragging about their commitment to spiritual disciplines. Other times, they can turn their failures into excuses to brag. “I messed up the most, so I get the gospel more than anyone.”
5.They appear to show a lot of emotion, but only when it serves them. They’ll fake sympathy (and often tears) when it can be used to manipulate someone else, but they can turn it off in an instant.
6.If called out, they put the blame on others. “If you stop me from doing this ministry, you’re going to hurt so many people!” Again, often with tears.
7.They isolate you from other spiritual authorities or friends who pose a threat to their authority.
8.They love bomb. They tell those who they can use how amazing they are, and what a great Christian they can be under their direction. This bonds people to them to do their bidding.
9.If you turn against them, they will do everything in their power to destroy your life and relationships. They take any disagreement very personally as an extreme threat to their authority.
10.They use the Gospel as an excuse to avoid consequences, and maintain control when caught in a sin or abuse of power. “If you are a Christian, you’ll forgive me.”
