WHY PLAGIARIZING PROPHETIC WORDS IS SO GRIEVOUS
What does it actually mean to plagiarize a prophetic word? And why is this such a grievous sin in God’s eyes?
To plagiarize is to “take the work or an idea of someone else, and pass it off as one’s own.” Scripture calls this stealing.
I am against the prophets… who steal My words from one another (Jeremiah 23:30).
This is not only dishonest, but it lacks giving honor to whom honor is due (Romans 13:7). To take someone else’s revelation, inspiration, teaching, or prophecy and state it as if God gave it to you, is highly unethical and totally unacceptable for any leader of integrity.
But let’s get practical. All of us can get inspired by reading or hearing words and insights from others. And if it is a true Spirit-inspired message, there will be an anointing on it that stirs something fresh inside of us. I have had this happen many times when reading authentic prophetic words from others. Something in my spirit jumps when reading it and it causes faith to rise. I may even receive an additional insight that either compliments or expands the original word. Even so, I recognize that any additional revelation I receive only came because of the original word from someone else.
When this has happened and I want to share it, I purpose to always cite the original source that inspired me. I want to give credit where credit is due. Even if I feel I have another angle or bullet point to add, I want to provide the proper context by commending the one who first shared it. I believe this is the honest, and honorable thing to do. And this is even more critical to do when sharing the exact same word from someone else.
To plagiarize something is to bypass this step altogether and simply post something as if you were the originator. Even if it just gives the impression that it was yours due to lack of details, it is not ethical, fair, or honest. And especially if the one posting it is a recognized leader and influencer, the implications are even more serious because of the example being set.
As one who has posted prophetic words for years, I am beginning to see how social media posting has become a mixture of good, bad – and highly questionable. In our desire to see prophetic ministry championed, we have gotten slack in upholding God’s standards and given too much room for presumption and conjecture. And though this certainly isn’t true of everyone, it’s something we should all be aware of.
Scripture is clear that the gift of prophecy is available to all, and we are all encouraged to pursue it. And I believe there is a place to share prophetic words online. But they must all pass the same test of authenticity and accuracy. I don’t want to settle for copied words or second-hand revelations. More importantly, I want to recognize them when they appear. Scripture actually demands it.
