THE EVIL OF EXAGGERATION

When one thinks of the subject of Exaggeration he usually thinks of Words… and rightly so, for Exaggeration is indeed an Intoxication of words… language temporarily out of control as it veers about making drunken passes at Reality. Thus, Reality suffers greatly at the hands of Exaggeration. The Results of exaggeration is always a Distorted Reality … It portrays a False Picture and in doing so provides a False Hope which ultimately leads to Defeat and Failure. No where, does Exaggeration dump its Litter on the Landscape more than in the Life of the Churches. This is the Sad Hour when our churches have grown to accept the Linguistic Inflation of Exaggeration as … “Ministerially Speaking” … and in doing so the Credibility of our Pulpits have been “weighed in the balance and found Wanting!” We Preachers must be told The Truth about Exaggeration … and The Truth is … That Exaggeration is a Sin!! It is a form of Lying … “Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness…” Exodus 20:16

Exaggeration as an Instrument of Untruth cannot be limited to Words Only. In Church Life it is found in Works and Ways as well. For example, it is a Grave Exaggeration (yes, even misplaced priorities) to place the Moral Life of the Nation above the Spiritual Life of the church in our Ministries… for in reality Only can the Moral life of the nation be Restored as the Spiritual Life of the churches in Revived!!!

Another Glaring Example of Exaggeration in our churches is the Exalted (exaggerated) Position we give to the False god named Up. Up reigns over the kingdom of Human Enthusiasm. Its philosophy is … Get All Excited … Go Tell Everybody! Up entices pastor and people in providing a “Quick Fix” and promises of Statistical Highs. Many a preacher has become Nothing More than a High Priest at the altar of Up. After reading the church papers and bulletins of these High Priest, one is made aware that not all Hype is to be found in the Secular Media. To be sure these Up Priests can serve (up) a pretty good dish of Hype with all the trimmings themselves! Just listen as they tell us about the Downtown church with the UPtown program … or … visit the First Baptist Church of Up and hear our preacher; Pastor I am Up, preach the gospel of Up … his topic today … The Love Of Up!! Beloved, whenever a church is fed a Steady Diet of UP the Results are always the same … Revelation 3:17, “Because thou sayest, I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing; And Knowest Not that thou art wretched, and miserable and poor and blind and naked:”

Exaggeration is the Method of all Myth. And indeed it is Pure Myth to believer the false god of Up or any other false deity Elevated by Exaggeration can deliver our churches from the deep spiritual need of Revival. Only Revival can restore our churches to the ministry of “Turing The World Upside Down! Acts 17:6

Article by Dr. F. William Chapman