In the previous two blogs we’ve looked at lessons we can learn from the moral failure of well-known pastors and leaders today. First, we saw the danger of valuing giftedness more than godliness. Success in ministry can be dangerous when we think we are special and can get away with sexual sin. We also saw the importance of humility and of accountability. We’ll conclude with one final lesson.
Don’t feel you are better than those who fall. There is a temptation is to feel superior to those who get caught in sin. It’s like being on a see-saw. When they go down it raises us up. Just because we don’t commit moral sin doesn’t mean we are free from all sin. Remember there are other sins just as bad that we often excuse in ourselves.
For example, gluttony, the sin of not being good stewards of our bodies, is one we often overlook or excuse. Three out of every four American adults are overweight, but it’s not something we focus on. When is the last time you preached a sermon against it? In addition to overeating, we can be poor stewards of our bodies by not getting enough exercise or rest, either.
We must take care of our health. God gives us one body for life, and we must make it last. Poor stewardship can hinder our ability to minister and serve God as He wants. Make your health a priority.
Being too busy is another socially-accepted temptation pastors and leaders often give into. Perhaps we think we are so important we must be constantly busy, or we are trying to impress others or ourselves, or even God. God expects us to put our wives and families before our ministry. He wants us to spend quality and quantity time with Him and in His Word. When we are too busy with other things we are bad stewards with our time.
Being too busy interferers with our time alone with God, and that weakens us and opens us to temptation and sin. When former Dallas Theological Seminary professor Howard Hendricks did a study of pastors who had disqualified themselves from ministry, he discovered that nearly all of them had ceased daily devotions. It’s especially easy for pastors to think that sermon prep and praying with other church leaders is sufficient for spiritual nourishment. Yet experience and Scripture both make it clear that we need to spend time alone with the Lord for the simple purpose of drawing near to Him and knowing Him better.
Being too busy and setting poor priorities interferes with our time with wife and family. God says we have a responsibility to them before our church, but often we neglect them to have more time for ministry. Being a sacrificial mate and parent is hard. It’s easy to instead spend time in ministry where people are impressed with us and we are complemented and looked up to.
God never gives us more to do than He gives us time to do it, so if you are too busy to put your family and relationship with God first, you are doing things He isn’t giving you to do. It’s easy to impress others by being busy. It’s been said that busyness is the new godliness. But it isn’t. So just because we haven’t committed moral sin doesn’t mean there aren’t areas of our lives that are not what God wants.
Sex outside marriage is indeed very wrong and sinful, but so is having secret thoughts of lust, even though we don’t act on them. Studies show that approximately two-thirds of pastors have struggled with pornography at some point, with nearly one in five currently facing this fight. The percentages are even higher for youth ministers. This kind of sexual sin may not impact another person, but they are no less sinful in God’s sight.
What about using someone else’s sermon or Bible study notes without giving them credit for it? What about jealousy of another ministry? Or gossiping about another church or pastor? Then there is self-righteousness when a pastor fails or falls and we don’t. Or feeling undue pride over the size or accomplishments of our church? The list can go on.
All sin is sin. There are no big or little sins. But there are some sins that God seems to hate worse than others – and sexual sin is not one of them. Proverbs 6:6-19 says the things God hates most are pride, lack of integrity, mistreating others and dishonest talk. Gossip and dishonest talk is particularly condemned by God. So is hypocrisy and self-righteousness. Paul says in Romans 7 that covetousness is the one that got him. If a person can keep the first 9 commandments, number 10 will get him because it is impossible to keep. “Do not covet” (Exodus 20:17). This is the one that defeated the rich young ruler who came to Jesus. Instead of coveting we must be content. What if pastors who were covetous, hypocritical, self-righteous or gossips made the news for their sins? Would any of us escape? None of us could cast the first stone. I’m not minimizing sexual sin, but I am warning against focusing on it above other sin. When we do that we can excuse our own sin as if it isn’t just as bad.
To summarize, I’m not saying these are as damaging as moral sin that has gone public, but they remind us that only he who is without sin can cast a stone at another. And we know there are no big or little sins – sin is sin. Are you sinless enough to look down on another sinner?
John 8:6-8 But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again, he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
Be honest: what sins do you struggle with most?
Are you really any better than those who commit moral sin?
How should you respond when you hear of a pastor or leader who falls into sin?
When must you do to have more victory over sin in your life?
CHRISTIAN MEN. I have lots of articles about Christian manhood written as I was striving to become what God created me to be. You can find these at CTOtraining.org.
cto Rev. Dr. JERRY SCHMOYER
Christian Training Organization
Jerry@ChristianTrainingOrganization.org
(India, Africa & Spanish Outreach, Spiritual Warfare, Family Ministries, Counseling, World View)
Copyright © 2026