Wolves Among the Sheep – Exist Today

Wolves among the sheep today? M Scott Peck wrote a Road Less Traveled which I will likely blog on someday. However, today I want to talk about his second book, called The People of the Lie.

Scott was a humanist psychologist who became a believer while writing the book, The Road Less Traveled.

So spent quite a while in the US church when he started to piece together some things in his counselees and some in the church members.

Then he writes People of the Lie.

These Wolves are Really Bad

He tells of an old counselee case long before who was afraid of crossing a bridge, or he would die in a crash. It was completely irrational, but made his life miserable.

One day,  the counselee was super happy and needed no more counseling. Scott asked him why, and he said he sold his son’s soul to the devil in a deal to be safe to cross the bridge.

Scott did not believe in spirits at that time, but was revolted that this guy could make such a deal about his son with a devil the counselee clearly believed in.  Jeff says this chance to counsel one of these people is unusual. He says these people usually avoid all counseling as do not want to appear sick. Furthermore, they do not want anyone to know their many secrets.

Jesus Says There are Wolves Among the Sheep

In the Church, Jesus said in Matthew 7:15 that we should watch out for ferocious wolves in sheeps clothing. He says in verse 21 that he will say to them that he never knew them.

Most small children learn that they are not the center of the world in early childhood. Some kids never surrender and put up a false front to let people know they are great. To look holy like God, they go to the church. They wrap themselves in the holiness of the church. They work very hard in the church to further their facade of holiness. So there are many more of these evil people in the church than in society at large.

Naturally These Wolves Still Exist

Scott found they often become leaders in the church or in Christian organizations. They have an amazing ability to cast blame and make themselves look good. They will often seek to shame people around them when they can. If you have ever tried to tell one of these wolves that they did something wrong or need to change, they will make you feel confused. They are masters of making people confused to get them to stop attacking, and the sheep even then blame themselves.

My Personal Experience With Wolves

I have gone deep talking with three. All were very rational men and highly respected in various Christian circles. Each of them went out of their way to tell me about what Jesus meant by confronting. The Bible says to go privately and then if not successful to go with two or three and see if you can succeed. They each took initiative to clarify for me that Jesus meant that the accused gets to approve or disapprove of who the other two or three are.  It must be mutual. That is a bazaar interpretation.  Yet each of them went out of the way to tell me when I confronted them each in very different situations. Thee are sick people (wolves, ferocious pigs) who will stop at nothing to get space so they cannot be pinned down.

None of them yelled at me. They were each masters of calm as part of the sheep imitation.

I told two of them in different contexts that I could not work with them anymore because of their habitual deception. They both them said to me. “Jim, we have a philosophical difference.” I said to both. “I refuse to call lying, cheating, and stealing philosophical differences.

I know 5 specifically and each is a man. Their Christian wives often just blame themselves. One I knew left the evangelical world to escape her husband. Scott notes the case of a single woman in his book and also notes the case of a married could who are both wolves. Horrible for the children. I know of one such case now that I think of it.  I regret I am too far away to know how to save the children.

Wolves Among the Sheep is a Serious Problem

Hitler is a famous public case of this kind of person.

If we think, we may all know church leaders who are people of the lie(ferocious wolves in sheep’s clothing).

Jesus told us to beware of these ferocious wolves. In Matthew 7:5 he tells us to not give our pearls (of correction) to swine, or they will rise up and tear us to pieces. What a strange metaphor. I would not be afraid to feed a pig as they are docile. I have been bit by the ferocious pigs Jesus speaks of though. He truly knew and warned us.

We Need to Act on Them To Protect Sheep

Here in China, I have seen international churches need to bar these American “wolves”  from the pulpit and take them off the elder board. Often churches do not block the wolves from hurting the sheep, but give them grace after grace and truth is lost in the confusion these people spread. See also Grace and Truth.

A large Chinese reformed house church near me has a wolf as the lead pastor.  He gained the support of his district leaders and cannot be fired internally.  The sheep all suffer.

Christians need to work hard to keep these people out of leadership of anything. Their children are hard to get close to and often will run from the evil they grew up with and will often lose God in the process.