The Body of Christ is Sick

     The Body of  Christ in America is severely disjointed, dysfunctional, and is headed for the cliff.  Why is this? My belief is that, although many of the gifts that God has put in His Body have had limited exposure and functionality, one gift has been grossly ignored, and even discarded. That gift is the gift of discernment. Because of this, the Body of Christ in America is all over the map in belief systems, which has resulted in wrong thinking and living, to the point of representing Christ in a dishonoring way.
     People with the gift of discernment, could be co-named "watchmen on the walls" as they discern who or what is coming towards the Body, and whether the proclamations they have to share are truth or error. They have a keen gift of "seeing" what spirit things are from.
     The problem is that our own independent spirit in this country, coupled by the relativism which swept in during the 80's, has infected the Body of Christ. This many-membered Body has negated anyone who says anything they don't want to hear, and discards any discernment which trys to warn of destructive error, as being "negative."
     One of the current doctrines which was allowed to develop, despite many discerning warnings, is the prosperity "gospel" and it is this one with it's rose garden beliefs, which recoils at the discerning warnings. The people who adhere to these beliefs, only listen to what they consider positive, so their fantasy world, which they call "their inheritance in Christ" is not shattered.
     So, which came first? Did the prosperity "gospel" throw out the prophets, or were people's hearts so closed to trusting and responding to the protection this gift can bring, that this prideful attitude helped herald in this false gospel? 
     Regardless, this gift and those who have it, has been rejected, with dire consequences to the Body of Christ. It is plainly, trying to function wholly, bypassing the cross, which is impossible.  Each member of the Body must go through the cleansing process of God, which is our inheritance won by Jesus' dying, so that we can be conformed to His image, and bring Him glory. By refusing to go through this process, the flesh is left to it's own devices and lusts, and is captivated by these "feel good" doctrines, which are the very ones that are deceiving the Body and making it terminally ill, if they don't turn from them, and unto the living Christ.