How to Identify a True Spiritual Leader

History is full of false prophets and spiritual leaders. They are more often than not charismatic, appealing in appearance, and are full of apparently fine, noble, and spiritually inspiring words, but, in the end, they lead the innocent astray. This is why Jesus warns us, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves” (Mt. 7:15). How can we discern the difference in a world so full of noise and false attractions? In an Artificial Intelligence world, where false notions can be so easily manipulated and made to look and sound like reality itself, what can we do?

In the Old Testament, we have great examples of true prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Elijah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. Each of them modeled the character traits of a true prophet, and each identified and revealed the false prophets of their time. There is always a cost to being a prophet as well. Jeremiah, at great cost to himself, went against the false prophets of Baal who were leading the Israelites away from the One God, getting them to follow other gods, including Baal. He was arrested and charged with treason and was nearly killed. The plot against him came from within his priestly kin, which served to highlight the personal cost to him. We also see in 1 Kings 18: 20-40 where the prophet Elijah defeats the false prophets of Baal at Mt. Carmel, revealing their falsehood, before all the people of Israel, proving that God is God and there is no other.

As to the question of how to identify a true spiritual leader, there are signs that we can look for to help us discern true spiritual leaders as opposed to those who are preaching in Jesus’ name but are, in fact, leading us toward the worship of other gods. There are many things to look for, but here are three ways, three signs that can help us in our discernment. The first is that they love and honor God above all else and promote the worship of the one true God boldly and joyfully, even when it may have a great cost to them. The second is that they always care for the poor. The third sign is that they always fight for justice. We see these signs in the Old Testament prophets, but more importantly, Jesus is the ultimate model, the definitive example of the true spiritual teacher. After all, he not only preaches the word of God, but he is the Word of God himself. He doesn’t just teach the word, he embodies it, he lives it, revealing the fullness of its truth not just in word but, more importantly, in his deeds. And he calls on us to do the same.

Indeed, false prophets have always been among us. Many claim to be spiritual leaders or leaders of other kinds. They know how to appeal to our emotions to get us to follow them. We see them on television, hear and follow them on talk radio, or the internet. For the sake of our souls and our own integrity, we must take care that we are following the right spiritual and social leaders. We must ask ourselves the question, “Is the teacher we are following modeling the way, the truth, and the life of Jesus? Does he show with his life that he loves and honors and worships the one, true God, putting God and his Word before all else? Does he model the Good Shepherd to us? Does he have an evident love and respect for the neighbor, especially for the poor, the downtrodden, the forgotten, and the alien among us? In other words, does he model the Good Samaritan to us? Does he seek and promote justice for all in the light and wisdom of the Gospel, or in the ‘light’ of the world? Of course, this means that we must be familiar with the Gospel ourselves, that we endeavor to know it more clearly every day. Are we praying over it, and, most importantly of all, are we working to develop and to practice the habits and virtues of Jesus in our own lives?

In our human lives, the one thing that does not lie, that reveals the truth more clearly about us, is our behavior. We must learn to be self-reflective enough and honest enough with ourselves to observe and discern our behavior in light of the Gospel. We must have the courage to see our weaknesses and ask for God’s grace in our efforts to change those vices we have developed. We must, in our own private and public lives, do all that is possible, with the grace of God, to live lives that model a true and honest love and worship of God. We must learn to see the suffering of others, particularly the poor, the disenfranchised, and the forgotten among us, and respond to that suffering with active compassion and empathy, seeing and treating them as we would wish to be treated ourselves. We must, with the force of love and mercy, both humbly seek to do justice, that is, justice in the light of the Gospel, in every aspect of our lives; our spiritual lives, as well as our communal lives, that is, our lives as family members, as neighbors and as citizens. When we do this regularly, we will be better able to discern whether the leaders we follow are false or true.

Lord, we pray that you give us the graces we need to love you with all of our hearts, our minds, our souls and all of our strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves, so that we might become living ‘prophets’ of your way, truth, and life to our families, our friends, our co-workers, and our neighbors in all that we say and do. Give us eyes to see the suffering of others, and the will to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, and to visit the sick and the imprisoned. Give us the desire to love you and to serve you by bearing one another’s burdens. We pray all of this in your name, Jesus. Amen.