A Legalistic Faith
Despite all the spiritual mentoring he received, Dwight’s faith remained young and somewhat legalistic. He focused more on what Christians should avoid than on what they should do. His Christianity emphasised the Ten Commandments and taboos against drinking, dancing, and card playing. It gave less attention to the Sermon on the Mount and the law of love. His zeal was irrepressible, but he did not always direct it correctly.
A Misguided Zeal
On one occasion, Dwight encountered two friends playing a harmless game of checkers after a prayer meeting. He reacted as though he were Jesus confronting the moneychangers in the temple. Seizing the board, he smashed it to pieces and then dropped to his knees in prayer.
Presumably, he was praying for his friends, whom he considered caught up in idle pursuits. Yet his actions also revealed self-righteousness and uncontrolled anger. It would take time for Dwight to understand a vital truth: it is God’s goodness, not His wrath, that leads people to repentance.
READ ALSO: WILLIAM AND CATHERINE (PART 8)
A Heart for the Marginalized
When his tenacity came under the anointing of the Holy Spirit later in his life, together they would prove an explosive mixture for revival wherever he ministered. While missions and Sunday schools were popping up all over Chicago, Dwight noted a void – no one was reaching out to the children who were orphaned or who lived in homes broken by alcoholism or poverty. As these children tended to be unruly and difficult to handle in a standard sit-and-listen Sunday school environment, they were expelled more than pursued directly. However, Dwight’s heart went out to them, and he decided to act on his empathy.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Tale Tuesday 074
Date: 6th February 2024
Title: : Dwight L. Moody – The Greatest Layman (Part 6)
Source: God’s generals- The Revivalists
Author: Roberts Liardon
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