“You are the head and not the tail ...”

How often have you heard these words uttered by some preacher, whether the pastor of your local church or via a television program? What is the Biblical support for this idea? Is this stated as a verse in the Bible?

You would be quite surprised by what the Bible actually says. Let’s be absolutely clear on one thing: the Bible makes no such statement. The actual verse is misquoted, often deliberately in order to get listeners into a euphoric state. Imagine what would happen if preachers actually quoted the Bible:

Deuteronomy 28

¹³ The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.
...
¹⁵ However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
¹⁶ You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.
¹⁷ Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.
¹⁸ The fruit of your womb will be cursed ...
¹⁹ You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.
²⁰ The Lord will send on you curses ...
²¹ The Lord will plague you with diseases
²² The Lord will strike you with wasting disease
²⁵ The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies

and it just keeps going.

Notice that the Bible says “The Lord will make you the head, not the tail”, but it is not unconditional. It tells you what you will be, but only if you obey God and keep His commands. This irresponsible (and as previously stated, often deliberate) misquoting results in complacency, spiritual immaturity, and sinners in ministry. However, it keeps the masses coming back for more of the “you are a good person” cheer-leading. This is very, very deliberate because the member will continue tithing and otherwise paying the pastor to keep telling them how good they are, no matter how anti-biblical their lifestyle may be.

You may be asking yourself (as many preachers teach), “didn’t Jesus come to preach a message of love and forgiveness?” Let’s remember how Jesus was extremely critical of the religious authorities of his day due to their hypocrisy, but what about those who weren’t saved? Didn’t he treat them with compassion? Absolutely, but he never compromised holiness and truth for popularity. First, while he was at a well in Samaria, he told the woman “you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband.” (John 4:18) He wasn’t being accusatory; he was simply stating the facts. Likewise, when he said “whoever is without sin cast the first stone,” he never said the woman was innocent, just that everyone else was also guilty of having sinned. Indeed, we live in the dispensation of grace, but even so, Ananias and Sapphira were killed for something seemingly insignificant: lying (Acts 5:1-10). Certainly the woman at the well, the prostitute, and Ananias and Sapphira were never told that they are the head and not the tail. In each case, their sin was the focal point of the passage.

We see that this method of addressing people was not an exception, but the norm. Of the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3, only two went unscathed. In fact, Laodicea was addressed in a manner that by today’s limp standards would seem un-Christian, where God said that he would “vomit” (from the Spanish translation) them from his mouth.

This all sounds a bit harsh, but think of it in a more personal way: if you see your children heading toward a precipice, do you cheer them on or do you correct them so as to avoid peril? Here you have people, some of who need help and some of who need correction, some of which are new, and some who are veterans, yet you hear the same rah-rah message week in and week out. They leave the church thinking that they have been edified when in truth, they have only been pacified.

When we read 1 Corinthians 13:11, we see the following: “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.” What is the relevance? This perpetual “head and not tail” misinformation does not educate, and members remain spiritual dwarfs. In fact, the majority of those members (and many who are also “in ministry”) cannot even face a prepubescent Jehovah’s Witness without being put to shame. If they are not educated in basic apologetics, how can they possibly educate others?

What would happen if truth is taught? Consider this excerpt of John 6:

⁶⁰ On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
...
⁶⁶ From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
⁶⁷ “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.

Jesus basically told his disciples, “if you don’t like it, you can leave.” Jesus was not afraid of losing an audience, but most modern-day pastors preach a very diluted gospel so as to keep people happy and thereby make them contribute financially. Think of it this way: have you ever seen a great movie and felt that you wanted your money back? How about the opposite: have you ever paid to see a horrible movie and felt that it was a good use of your money? Likewise, by keeping the congregation happy, you keep them giving and coming back for more. I have yet to hear mega-church preachers quote Lamentation 3:38 “Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?” This may send people away in droves, and that would not be fiscally responsible!

To some, I may come off sounding like an old, grumpy man who just wants to complain about things. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am neither old nor am I complaining. I am very upset at how people are being taken advantage of, where preachers and pastors can say anything and it goes unquestioned. For example, a few years ago, everyone jumped on the “generational curses” bandwagon. Because so many pastors and preachers taught this, it went unquestioned by most as truth. However, Ezekiel 18:1-4 is very clear that generational curses were abolished. This is on par with the belief that you can speak things into existence. Again, pastors and preachers jumped on this bandwagon and church members went along with it and believed it. However, upon simple observation, we find that this equates to superstition and metaphysics. If I would say, “I hope this car doesn't turn off on me”, I might get a response of “don’t speak that into existence!” So if I know that my fuel injector is clogged, stating it is basically “jinxing” myself, which is superstitious - no longer can I be a realist! Most people did not even try to rationalize this ridiculous teaching and sheepishly accepted it. However, as with most religious teachings, once it becomes pervasive, it is accepted as truth, no matter how anti-biblical it may be.

It is so unfortunate how so many “Christians” are so biblically ignorant (and we perish for lack of knowledge). The Bible is clear on how we are to deal with everything in which we hear, no matter the source: “Test everything. Hold on to the good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21) Personally, I like the Spanish translation: “Examinadlo todo; retened lo bueno,” which translates into “examine everything, retain the good.” While on the topic of Spanish, a great example is a Puerto Rico based denomination who believes that there is no grounds for divorce. While divorce is not God’s intent for marriages, Jesus himself stated that infidelity is grounds (Matthew 5:32, 19:9). In the meantime, church members don’t know any better due to ignorance and live in bondage.

The question that naturally arises is: “Are you asking me to disobey or contradict my pastor? Doesn’t the Bible say to be obedient and submit to your pastor? Aha! Herein lies the great hypocrisy: every church has members which came from other churches because they disagreed with the doctrine being taught in their church. Have you ever heard a pastor turn away a prospective member by telling them, “you need to submit to your pastor”? Heavens no; they are quickly accepted (bigger church, more prestige, more money). Here’s a concrete example: I spent many years in legalism and when I finally did some deep research and came to the conclusion that the legalistic doctrine is wrong, I spoke with my pastor (and best friend, who was also my best man). When I told him I was leaving the church because I could no longer accept the doctrine, he was broken-hearted and wept inconsolably, and seeing him like that broke my heart. It was, by far, the most difficult transition I have ever had to make. Ultimately, I ended up in a church where thinking is forbidden. I was in the music ministry and witnessed anti-Biblical behavior by a leader. This leader stated things such as:

If we look in Ecclesiastes 10, verse 4 reads: “If a ruler’s anger rises against you, do not leave your post; calmness can lay great errors to rest.“ Now exchange “ruler” for “leader” ... “If a leader’s anger rises against you, do not leave your post; calmness can lay great errors to rest.“

He stated, in no uncertain terms, that if he behaved inappropriately, the musicians and choir should still be supportive of him because of what the aforementioned verse stated. This is extremely dangerous because this is how so many doctrines have begun - by misquoting, taking verses out of their context, or otherwise interpreting the Bible in support of one’s agenda. In private, I confronted him by saying, “If you are going to exchange ‘ruler’ for ‘leader’, then continue reading: ⁵ There is an evil I have seen under the sun, the sort of error that arises from a ruler: ⁶ Fools are put in many high positions, while the rich occupy the low ones. So that then becomes: There is an evil I have seen under the sun, the sort of error hat arises from a leader... This isn’t a defense for you; this implicates you.”. Immediately, he was at a loss for words. The “errors” ensued, some of them quite egregious, none of which were acceptable. I spoke with the pastor and discussed what I disagreed with, and to summarize the events, he asked me if I had reconsidered my membership!

Today’s leaders and pastors probably think that they equate to the king. Ecclesiastes 8 states: ² Obey the king’s command, I say, because you took an oath before God. ³ Do not be in a hurry to leave the king’s presence... ⁴ Since a king’s word is supreme, who can say to him, “What are you doing?” Let’s be clear here: the church is not a theocracy; there are no kings. The only King is Jesus. Pastors and leaders are human and quite fallible. Any pastor or leader who thinks that you should unquestionably submit to them because they are in a position of authority is a hypocrite. That means that we have no right telling a Jehovah’s Witness that their leaders are wrong and they should disobey them. This means that we cannot approach those who believe in tele-evangelists who sell miracle cures that are a hoax. We also cannot contradict pastors who teach about the un-Biblical “holy laughter.” Allow me to reiterate that Paul, the greatest missionary to have ever lived, stated that we should test everything, even his own words. Are we now to begin exempting certain individuals from the Biblical scrutiny by which we have been told to abide? Don't get me wrong; I am not stating that you should publicly disagree (speak in private), be divisive, or disrespect those who are in authority. You don’t disobey the laws and leaders of this country, but if you disagree with them, you have every right not to vote for them. Remember, Jesus disagreed with the religious authorities of his day and proved them wrong Biblically, and they sought his death for this! It is a shame that the trend persists today, although they don’t seek your death; they seek your silence and unconditional approval.

It was necessary to state these things to prove a point: don’t accept everything out of a preacher’s or leader’s mouth unconditionally. That is NOT what the Bible tells us to do. Study the Scriptures (that’s a tall order in itself) and test everything by Scripture. Indeed, it is good to motivate others and encourage them to strive for greater knowledge and a closer walk with God, but when you tell people who are living in sin that they are already good, that God will give them back everything which the enemy stole from them, and that they are the head and not the tail, then you have done a great disservice. Let’ begin speaking truth and tell them what God wants for them (God will make you the head) if they separate themselves from sin and iniquity and submit to God. I guess that may prove to be too controversial!