Corruption in the Church anywhere can easily cause people to lose faith in the Church everywhere. Every time a priest molests an altar boy or a preacher leaves his wife to run off with the church secretary, you can hear folks say, “Well, that’s what all those preachers are like – they’re only interested in themselves. Organized religion is just a racket, so I don’t want to have anything to do with it.”

But if that’s our attitude, maybe we need to take a closer look at the words of this unnamed prophet. After all, he points out that the Lord revealed Himself at the time of the Exodus (verse 27), when the prophet Moses spoke the Word of the Lord to his brother Aaron, the first High Priest. But haven’t all of us Christians received even more of God’s revelation? For we have much more of the Bible besides the five books of Moses. We know much more of God’s plan of salvation than Eli’s sons ever did.

And yes, Eli’s sons wanted more than their fair share of the animal sacrifices that people offered up on the altar to atone for their sins. But all of us Christians have been blessed with an even greater sacrifice, the blood of Christ on the cross, which cleanses all who trust in Him of all our sins.

So, if we Christians are tempted to feel better about ourselves by looking down on unfaithful, hypocritical leaders of the Church throughout history, maybe we first need to look in the mirror. For God has spoken to us in His Word. God has given His only Son to die for sinners like us. But are we really any more faithful than Eli’s sons were, or than the modern religious leaders we love to despise?

Or like Eli’s sons, have we really been more interested in making ourselves fat on the Lord’s offerings (verse 29)? Have we been primarily concerned with the feelings or knowledge we can get out of worship? Have we been mainly interested in the health or happiness or material blessings that we want from God? In our self-absorption have we thus disdained the true sacrifice of the Lord, the cross of Christ (verse 29)?

Or if, on the other hand, we have turned away from the Church altogether because of the imperfections of its leaders, how we can we say we are truly honoring the Lord (verse 30)? For Peter reminds us
that all who trust in Christ have been made a royal priesthood and a holy nation (I Peter 2:9). All Christians are thus called to abstain from fleshly lusts, setting a good example for unbelievers (I Peter 2:11-12). All of us are called to “proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (I Peter 2:9).

So, while we Christians are rightly scandalized by the selfishness and hypocrisy of priests and preachers past and present, we also need to think about this: are we, the priests of the Lord, doing our job any more faithfully? Or are we also turning unbelievers away from Christ by the self-centered way we live?

I Samuel 2:26-3:1 (NASB)

26 Now the boy Samuel was growing in stature and in favor both with the LORD and with men.
27 Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Did I not indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh’s house?
28 ‘And did I not choose them from all the tribes of Israel to be My priests, to go up to My altar, to burn incense, to carry an ephod before Me; and did I not give to the house of your father all the fire offerings of the sons of Israel?
29 ‘Why do you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling, and honor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the choicest of every offering of My people Israel?’
30 “Therefore the LORD God of Israel declares, ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever’; but now the LORD declares, ‘Far be it from Me– for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed.
31 ‘Behold, the days are coming when I will break your strength and the strength of your father’s house so that there will not be an old man in your house.
32 ‘And you will see the distress of My dwelling, in spite of all that I do good for Israel; and an old man will not be in your house forever.
33 ‘Yet I will not cut off every man of yours from My altar that your eyes may fail from weeping and your soul grieve, and all the increase of your house will die in the prime of life.
34 ‘And this will be the sign to you which shall come concerning your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: on the same day both of them shall die.
35 ‘But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed always.
36 ‘And it shall come about that everyone who is left in your house shall come and bow down to him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread, and say, “Please assign me to one of the priest’s offices so that I may eat a piece of bread.”‘”