4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ….
-2 Corinthians 10:4-5, KJV
Some of the stories from the sad Ravi Zacharias story reminded me of some basic responses of cheaters.
This makes sense since Ravi Zacharias was cheating on his wife by having sexual relations with message therapists as revealed by the investigation. In particular, I noticed how RZ resorted to telling himself a lie to “justify” his abusive sin.
Can you pick out that “justifying” lie from the report quoted here?
“She [the witness] reported that after he arranged for the ministry to provide her with financial support, he required sex from her. According to this witness, Mr. Zacharias used religious expressions to gain compliance, as she was raised to be a person of faith. She reported that he made her pray with him to thank God for the ‘opportunity’ they both received. She said he called her his ‘reward’ for living a life of service to God, and he referenced the ‘godly men’ in the Bible with more than one wife.”
-Lynsey M. Barron, Esq. and William P. Eiselstein, Esq. in “Report of Independent Investigation into Sexual Misconduct of Ravi Zacharias,” February 9, 2021, page 5.
Ravi Zacharias lied to himself that abusing his position of power to use and abuse another person for sexual gratification–as that is what he was doing here–could be blessed by God as a ‘reward.’* That is not how God from the Bible works. In fact, it is revolting to even suggest so!
I believe no hope exists for resurrection of marriages ravaged by infidelity until lies like these are demolished in the cheater’s mind.
One of the many sad things about these stories is how I truly believe cheaters sincerely believe these twisted lies. They come in all variaties:
-“I deserve to be happy. [This means, in the mind of the cheater, that they are allowed to cheat on their spouse.]”
-“I have needs he (or she) isn’t meeting. So, I deserve to have those ‘needs’ met [sexually with the affair partner].”
-“God must have brought this person [the affair partner] into my life as a reward.”
You get the idea.
Cheaters aren’t very original. Satan and his minions have been selling the same lies for ages.
__________________
*Sadly, this isn’t the only lying “justification” I see in that quote regarding the witness’ statement…
Another lie that catches my eye is how he tries to suggest abusing another sexually is analogous to polygamy in the Old Testament. Cheaters sometimes walk out the polygamy “justification,” too. This lie also is old and far from new.
However, what makes all this particularly nasty in the case of Ravi Zacharias is that he used his money and spiritual position to use and abuse this Witness as she recounts the interaction!
This is an example of Ravi Zacharias engaging in clergy sexual abuse. It is evil.
