Suffering: The Legacy of Failed Leadership

I caught a glimpse of Tammy Faye Bakker's emaciated body on a news report of Larry King's interview with her very shortly before she died on Saturday. It was a horrific sight. Last year I saw a portion of her latest attempt at TV. Her program was called "You Can Make It" and her message was consistent with that theme. How I wished her message had been, "No, you cannot make it. Your only hope to make it is through connection to God's provisions for your health and happiness."

But my saddest thought looking at her 65-pound body was how she had been failed by the relationships in her life whose role it was to be a resource to her for the support she needed. I grieve deeply her suffering. I grieve also the ignorance of parents, husbands, and pastors who fail those God has given them to serve.