Malcom X.4.Fraud.

What do you do when the sole focus of your awe, your worship, turns out to be a fraud? When the person you are willing to die for, fails to do what they promised you? When your mentor falls into the same temptations that he had saved you from? 

Malcom X had basically worshipped the man called "the Honorable Elijah Muhammad." Malcom describes the need for Mr. Muhammad when he says, "To us, the Nation of Islam was Mr. Muhammad. What bonded us into the best organization black Americans ever had was every Muslim's devout regard for Mr. Muhammad as black America's moral, mental, and spiritual reformer" (Hale 294). Malcom and other Nation of Islam followers had placed so much faith and hope in Mr. Muhammad. They had raised him up so high that they felt he was either right below or an equal to their God. Its dangerous to move a man up that high. Its dangerous to believe that a man can completely uphold his moral beliefs. Why is this dangerous? Because all men on the earth are only human. Everyone will make some sort of mistake, and the more power and influence you have, the bigger that mistake will seem. 

Elijah Muhammad made an irrefutable mistake when he decided to sleep with two of his secretaries. Both had his children and were therefore isolated from other Muslims on the charge of adultry. Eventually, both of them decided to bring legal suits against Mr. Muhammad, and the scandal was brought forward to the public. Everything that the black Muslims in America believed, rested on the shoulders of Mr. Muhammad, and he betrayed them and the institution he had worked so hard to build up. The Muslims' role model had fallen into temptation, had tried to cover it up, and not taken responsibility or punished himself for the act. How could the rest of the muslims be expected to uphold all the rules when even their leader couldn't do it? Without a perfect example, how can a group of people ever hope to become the people they see themselves becoming. Malcom should have put his god, Allah, first and not rested so much faith in Mr. Muhammad--a human--a human who would eventually make a mistake.  

Unfortunately, leaders in high positions in religious groups are often quick to fall into temptation. They are handed a plate with just too many things they want and their reputations make them believe they can get away with giving in. Their bodies, their human instincts, take over, and they forget what they teach to others. For example, sex scandals are happening in churches all around the country. I use this example, because I can empathize with Malcom because of it. It pains me when I hear these stories, read about these great leaders making mistakes. My church tries to prevent situations like this by having more than one pastor. We have a Sr. Pastor, a Children's Pastor, a Jr. High Pastor, and a worship Pastor. The Sr. Pastor is the head of the church, and the other pastors check up on him, making sure he stays true to what the church believes. We also don't believe that our pastor was divinely chosen by God to be our leader. Pastor Sam, my Sr. Pastor, also says "I am not the Messiah" frequently during church as a joke. He feels it is extremely important that we don't think he can fix all our problems. He is just as human as we are.

People often expect their leaders to uphold their doctrine perfectly, but the fact is, they are human. Also unfortunate, is how the church as a whole, often pays a price for these leaders' actions. Different sects of the church start pointing fingers, saying "They did it!". Unfortunately, stuff like the sex scandals happen every day.

People aren't gods. No one is perfect. If you believe in a God, rest your faith in Him, not the people representing him on earth. Expect mistakes. Expect perfection only from God.