My heart goes out to Michael Guglielmucci in so many ways. For the past two years, he has been faking a terminal illness, written a top selling song about belief in God to heal him, and living in internal shame as he did this all to cover up his addiction to porn.
When I first heard about his deception, I was outraged. Mainly because of the pathetic testimony his life has on the Kingdom of Jesus on earth. An unbelieving world doesn’t need much to condemn what we believe in as crap. And his lies made us all look like a bunch of fools.
But if we think that we are immune to such depravity for a single second, we are deceiving ourselves. As people who have decided to follow Jesus, we also inherit an enemy hell bent to destroy our salvation and joy in our King.
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8
Mike was snared into this trap because of his addiction to porn. Something I was a vulnerable to for a long time. And the enemy of his soul pounced on this opportunity and kept him in bondage and deception for over two years.
I can only imagine the inner turmoil Mike felt as he fronted up to large gatherings and spoke of his battle with his “fake cancer.” The demons he endured during this time is beyond me to comprehend. But God in His mercy, wanted to free Mike from this battle and made him pay the ultimate consequence and inspired him to come clean. In doing so, He shattered Mike to his core.
Now instead of outrage, I am humbled by the discipline our Father dishes out to His children. I’m a dad and sometimes I need to be cruel to be kind. This shatters my heart as I see my kids crumble under an authority they have no capacity to understand - nor understand why.
But as a father, I have the “bigger picture” in mind and am willing to endure the hardship of hurting my kids feelings in order to teach them valuable life lessons. In a much bigger way, our Father does this to us in order to bring out the best in us:
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives…
…but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Heb 12:5b-6, 12:10-11
Right now, Mike is feeling the discipline of his Father. Because he was such a public figure, his discipline is being played out in a public way. And this must cut him to the core.
But in the end, it will yeild the “peacful fruit of righteousness” - Mike’s torment will end - eventually. So in the mean time, who am I to judge him? God’s Kingdom is way too big to be thwarted by the actions of a son in discipline. And what discipline it is! Check out this video to see his lies confessed to all…
Like I said, my heart feels for the guy. He knows how massively he has screwed up - and he is paying the consequences right now and is being crushed by the discipline of his Father. As I think about these things, I can only hope that I don’t find myself in a situation where I am also disciplined by my Father.
It’s times like this where the words of Paul ring true:
“..work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Phil 12:12b-13
I feel a kinship to Mike as I, and you, are equally as vulnerable to our enemy’s attack. I pray that Mike repents and is restored. And I pray that I and you don’t ever find ourselves in his shoes. And my “outrage” has been subdued by the fact that the Kingdom will easily absorb this event. Jesus is in control.
Great blog mate. Very sobering isn’t it? May none of us for one second think that we are immune from the devastation of sin as it continually bites at our heals. You’re right about the discipline of our Heavenly Father and no doubt Mike is now experiencing it in abundance and also, by God’s grace, embraced as a dearly loved son. My prayer is that he gets restored through a deeply repentant heart and that this will not destroy the faith of those, especially the youth, who looked up to him as a mentor. The Kingdom will endure and Jesus lives, that gives me great hope!
I have to agree with what you have written here. I myself feel for Mike and his family and what they must be going through.
I pray that Mike can with the help of our Lord Jesus Christ find his way and get his life back on track.
I pray that other people will not let this effect their faith and continue to remain in a relationship with Jesus.
Well done on such a well written article
Wow. A lot of devastation in the wake of this revelation, but at the same time, strangely enough, there must be rejoicing and relief for Mike and others who are now witnessing the way our Father deals with us: as severely as necessary - but mercifully, so as to keep us in His fold.