By: Solomon Izang Ashoms
2015-01-23 14:08
Durban - Earlier this week a video showing well renowned pastor
and popular motivational speaker in South Africa, Sthembiso Zondo in the
nude, went viral on social media.
The recorded video, taken by a
woman sitting in front of him, shows the unmarried Pastor Zondo talking
on his phone, while pacing up and down around the lounge in front of a
woman sitting on a couch, the video shows the pastor wearing nothing,
using his hand to rub his penis, twice.
Divorced Zondo is the
founder and senior pastor of Soul Renaissance Ministries Durban, South
Africa, established in 2001. He also founded Zero-to-Hero, an NGO whose
objective is to preach the gospel of hope.
This is indeed a very
sad story seeing that Pastor Zondo influences millions of people and is
ranked as one of the most influential pastors in South Africa. The new
rockstars in town are definitely pastors, they command respect,
attention, drive state-of-the art cars, they are always on TV and radio
and wear designer clothes.
One statistic in a book shows that 33%
of pastors have crossed the line with a woman not their spouse but have
not been caught. That is an alarming number. More and more pastors are
cheating on God and cheating on their spouses – married and unmarried.
A
lot of people commenting on social media about pastor Zondo’s issue
didn’t see anything wrong with his action insisting that the notion of
thou shall not “judge the man of God”, while some are asking him to step
away from being a pastor and speaker because he has broken ranks from
his godly office. Taking from the scene and mood of the 37 seconds
video it looks like the woman is his sexual partner. Even if she’s not
(highly unlikely), the question remains, why was he parading himself
naked in front of a woman?
So why do male pastors cheat on their
wives or fornicate though unmarried? Some have many girlfriends with no
shame. Though a lot is expected of a deacon, elder, or pastor, “it seems
that cheating has become the new normal, the new cool perhaps”
The
truth is that most pastors are ordinary feeble men and are prone to
like every man to be vulnerable to sexual attraction. There is no
difference between pastors and other ordinary men. Pastors commit sexual
sin for the same reason people who are not pastors do. What is that?
Well, it consist of different reasons ranging from the abuse of
influence to temptations, vulnerable needs and weaknesses.
Pastors
engage in sexual sins because we allow them. We keep quiet when we find
out that a pastor is cheating on his wife or in sexual association with
another woman though he’s unmarried. We misuse phrases from the bible
like “who are you to judge”, “touch not the Lord’s anointed” and “him
who is without sin cast the first stone”. What rubbish!
Some
women are the reason why pastors cheat and have sexual encounters. They
devalue themselves and offer their vagina to these fraudulent men of
God, thinking it would increase God’s blessings in their lives and
upgrade their social and spiritual status. That’s a lie from hell. Women
selling themselves cheap encourage pastors to satisfy their lustful
pleasure with whoever, whenever. I know so many single pastors who are
dating multiple women, some are aware of it and still hang around them.
Run baby!
Also, sometimes married pastors are bored with their
wives and vulnerable to “something different.” But some cheaters have
great wives and are not bored. So, this is no answer. Some single
pastors just don’t want to commit to their girlfriends or one woman.
They ride on the attention and influence they have over vulnerable women
in the church
Certain pastors think they are stronger than they
are. But they are not – we all are not. Don’t believe your hype, your
office as a pastor does not make you immune to temptations and sin. I
have heard of a Congolese pastor based in Johannesburg pastoring a mega
church in Midrand who uses every opportunity to lure young women into
satisfying his sexual passions. He still prides himself as a miracle
maker. We all need help. We need a community of faith, mentors, friends,
family and a net to fall into.
Furthermore, pastors feel they are
in love with the sexual partner and justify it as “what I’ve been
searching for all my life.” But they are just as likely to know going in
that this is temporary, shallow, one-dimensional, and its trouble, yet
they still do it. This is no answer.
Bottom line is pastors cheat
and engage in fornication because just like us, we are all sinners in
need of grace daily. They allow their relationship with God to get to a
broken state. They get weak and don’t reach out for help.
I
stayed away from sex before marriage for 15 years, before then I was
promiscuous. And now that I am married, I’ve made a decision to rather
die than cheat on my wife. How about you? Only God can help us, but it’s
possible!
Fornication and sex destroys us inside-out, don’t fool around.
So if you are Pastor Zondo, what would you say to your congregation this Sunday? The devil made me do it?
Pastors are sinners too. Pray for your pastor.
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