They’d gotten into the habit of crediting God’s favor for their successes in publishing, ministry, and court victories, instead of the hard work of talented creatives, savvy businessmen, and shrewd attorneys.
Sure, it gave the appearance of humility, but over time, it became too easy to buy into the hype and believe that for real...
…which can’t help but foster a mistaken belief that the Org is, for all intents and purposes, invincible and destined to prevail, no matter what…
…which, in turn, can’t help but inspire increasingly catastrophic strategic decisions as time goes on…
…to the point where they’re picking fights they have no chance at winning, and clueless as to why the fuck it’s happening…
…i.e. the “Nightmare” stage of Wishful Thinking (Google it if you’re unfamiliar).