Stop Outsourcing your Faith: It's the Path to Spiritual Manipulation

Many Christians today are being led into spiritual and financial oblivion by pastors who preach miracles they themselves do not live by. It has become common to see believers flocking to churches in desperation, hoping for supernatural interventions that will fix financial struggles, heal brokenness, or reverse poor decisions overnight. But beneath the loud prayers and dramatic testimonies lies a heartbreaking reality: many of the miracles being advertised are traps designed to exploit the vulnerable. The saddest part is that the exploitation is wrapped so neatly in scripture that people no longer see it as manipulation—they see it as faith.

Think about how most of these situations begin. People take loans with genuine hope — not greed, not foolishness, but real hope. Some borrow to start a business they believe in, others to expand a small project or pay school fees for their children. Many are simply trying to navigate a difficult moment in life or escape the sinking sand of poverty. And the truth is, sometimes those plans work out beautifully. But sometimes they don’t. That is the very nature of life. Businesses fail for reasons beyond your control. Markets shift. Customers disappear. Opportunities crumble. Projects stall. Circumstances change overnight. These ups and downs are not spiritual punishments — they are part of the human journey.

But instead of accepting the unpredictability of life, many believers internalize failure and blame themselves or worse, assume God has abandoned them. That is the moment vulnerability creeps in. That is when panic replaces reason. That is when people start searching for a spiritual explanation for what is simply part of life. And in that emotional confusion, many run straight into the arms of a pastor, believing that a human being can somehow replace personal faith. A setback suddenly becomes a sign from God to surrender your spiritual authority to another person, as if your relationship with God can be subcontracted. But it should never work like that. Your financial challenge should not be the reason you hand over your entire spiritual life to someone who claims to have a shortcut to heaven. True faith does not collapse when life gets difficult. Real faith is meant to anchor you in the storm, not send you running to human intermediaries out of fear and desperation.

Yet at your most desperate moment, a pastor suddenly appears with a fresh “revelation.” He tells you to bring 10% of your debt as a sacrificial tithe, promising that God will erase the rest. And because you are tired, stressed, emotionally drained, and spiritually confused, you believe him. You line up with the others — hopeful, shaken, and desperately wanting the nightmare to end. You forget that if this “anointing” truly had the power to erase debts, it should have worked when you were first struggling, not now that your life is collapsing. You forget that no matter how spiritual you are, mathematics does not bend because someone shouted “receive!” You forget that the same God who asks for humility also asks for wisdom.

This is not faith. It is manipulation wrapped in scripture. It is spiritual theater designed to extract money from wounded Christians who are desperate for relief. Pastors who preach such doctrines do not live by miracles — they live by your money. That is why their lifestyles improve while yours collapses. That is why their children attend expensive international schools while you are struggling to keep your child in class. That is why they drive luxury cars while you are negotiating with auctioneers. That is why their houses grow bigger as yours shrinks under the weight of debt. The painful truth is that people are not being blessed; people are being milked. And the tragedy is that believers keep returning with buckets, mistaking exploitation for spirituality.

It is time Christians woke up. Your faith was never supposed to run through a pastor. God is not a landlord who must be accessed through an agent. You do not need a human being to unlock your destiny. Real faith is personal. It requires effort — spiritual discipline, prayer, study, seeking, thinking, understanding. Too many believers have become spiritually lazy, preferring shortcuts and “anointed formulas” instead of building a real relationship with God. A pastor’s role is to guide, not control. To teach, not manipulate. To lead, not enrich himself at your expense. A pastor should point you to God, not position himself as the only gateway to blessings. If he becomes the middleman of your salvation, something is already wrong.

And here is the uncomfortable truth: if your relationship with God collapses the moment a pastor leaves your life, then it was never faith — it was dependency. Dependency is what false prophets thrive on. They need you to believe that without them, you cannot hear God. Without them, you cannot prosper. Without them, you cannot rise. Without them, your life is spiritually useless. That is how spiritual slavery is created.

Christians must learn to think critically, to question teachings, to examine scriptures for themselves, and to protect their spiritual and financial wellbeing. Blind obedience is not holiness. It is how people lose their money, their dignity, and sometimes even their sanity. Faith does not require you to surrender your logic, and God does not require you to hand over your intelligence. God gave you a mind so you can use it, not suppress it.

At the end of the day, God is not sold inside envelopes. Blessings are not purchased with percentages. Miracles are not tied to how much money you place on the altar. Real faith is free — beautifully free — but it demands that you think, grow, and seek God for yourself. Wake up. Your salvation has never depended on a pastor. It depends on your relationship with God.