Victim To Victory

 

          How much have you been touched by “cancel culture”(CC)? For those unfamiliar with the term, CC means “cancelling” (everything from ignoring to tearing up by the roots and killing) any person, place, or thing that disappoints, offends, or is simply in disagreement with your beliefs and ways of thinking. CC has become such a common mindset that many do not even realize how much their behavior has slid down the slippery slope of “cancellation” as a way of dealing with their problems.

            We have seen CC at work recently in efforts trying to erase the history of our nation’s heritage. Leadership imperfections may exist, but tearing down statues and changing the names of places, cannot change the past. Nor can it heal any woundedness caused by past events. Trying to “cancel” only makes problems worse. Why?  Because it doesn’t change the human heart.         

            A recent post on Facebook captures a critical observation. Pastor R. Loren Sandford of New Song Church and Ministries in Colorado writes, “I've concluded that some people have a sick NEED to hate. It might be hate for a Christian leader. It might be directed at a political figure. It might be directed at the opposite sex. It can be racial. It can be religious. In any case the need will be there and it will manifest in damage done to relationships of all kinds.

Why Is it there? Because It promises power and significance while turning the hater ultimately into a victim. For at least a generation now we've been conditioned as a culture to think of ourselves as victims instead of sinners who are saved and victorious in Jesus. Victims of sexism. Victims of race. Victims of abuse. Victims of injustice. Victims of circumstance. Victims of politics. Victims of the big corporations. Victims of unfair treatment. On and on it goes.

And now hatred consumes the land. I think we need to remember that we are called to be conformed to the image of the Son of God. He was not the victim of the cross. He accomplished the cross. And then rose again.” 

I like this quote because prophetic pastor Sandford doesn’t just state a problem, but also states the solution. The solution is the heart transforming power of Jesus. Honoring God by surrendering more and more of our hearts to him on a continuing basis, is literally our only salvation (see Philippians 2:12). Changing from the inside out is our hope for victory over victim status (see Mark 7:17-23). This solution requires a radical, daily commitment. Sometimes moment-to-moment intentionality is necessary, especially when we seem surrounded by “haters.” Hate, though it tries to blame (and thus shame) others, ironically brings shame back on the one who hates. Hate becomes a vicious cycle of creating victims of hate.

Shame and condemnation are at the root of victimhood. Backtracking from hatred, the path goes something like this. The roots of hatred lie in bitterness, and the roots of bitterness lie in condemning judgments. Condemning judgments form after complaining, blaming, or justifying. We rely on our own faulty beliefs, make false assumptions, draw inaccurate conclusions, feed more faulty beliefs, form harmful opinions, create condemning judgments which all contribute to making bad decisions leading to bad behavior. An example may go like this. A female with skin color X may have grown up without a positive male influence in her life. Her beliefs were formed by her mom being taken advantage of and her own bad experiences with males of skin color Y. Her assumptions are that ALL men and persons of skin color Y are bad people. A female supervisor’s decision at work did not go in her favor. She assumes her work is not appreciated, and concludes it is because of her skin color X, She decides to quit. A male supervisor in a different department (who she doesn’t like just because he’s a male) offers her a good job. She turns it down mostly because she was still upset (bitter) at losing her original position. She lost her place to live because of unemployment and she blamed all these troubles on being victim of the company’s unfairness. Cancelling incidents like this happen over and over again in marriages, family relationships, churches, and organizations to the detriment of everyone involved.

Our hearts are prone to bitter, condemning judgments that create destruction. Bitterness is like a weed in a garden that will continue to spread unless it is rooted out.  Bitterness automatically finds a way to blame others as “bad,” and justify self as “good.” Seeing faults in others and not seeing them in ourselves, is an innate tendency of our sin nature, and can only be rolled back through the saving power of Jesus.

 Another enemy of a productive garden is insects. Psychiatrist Daniel Amen describes our Automatic Negative Thoughts as ANTS. Amen’s articles and books describe how this acronym came to him after finding an ant infested kitchen in his home. The infestation was like the images of brains of his anxiety and depression ridden patients who had one negative thought after another stealing their happiness and contentment in life. Getting rid of ANTS means we must be actively resistant to complaining, blaming, justifying, making false assumptions, drawing inaccurate conclusions, forming harmful opinions, and allowing bitter, condemning judgments to take root in our hearts. They turn us into victims whenever they get a chance.  

The best “pest control” treatment for these ANTS is gratitude. As a follower of Jesus, the thing I am most grateful for is his ability to change the things I am powerless to change. I can’t change other people, but I can allow God to change my heart. When people do me wrong, it does me no good to hold bitterness against them. God never “cancels” a person, and therefore does not allow me to cancel a person either. But God does want me to “cancel” (root out) bitterness and victimhood from my own heart (see Hebrews 12:4-15). I have the choice not to be a victim by receiving God’s power of forgiveness and granting forgiveness to my offender. See an earlier article for more on this: authoredhersh.blogspot.com/2011/10/overcoming-cycle-of-offense.html .

Is there someone you are avoiding because of a disagreement or ill-treatment of some sort? Is there a group, employer, church, organization, political party, or some other affiliation that instantly triggers your thoughts in a negative direction (produces ANTS)? If so, you may be sloshing in more bitterness and victim than you realize. Ask God for forgiveness and consider  what action you need to take to gain victory.

For people reading this who like me, sometimes find themselves on the receiving end of CC, never lose hope in the power of God to intervene. When people try to cancel you out, let the love of Christ give you the affirmation and validation no human can give. Believing in Jesus is our salvation (see John 3:16-17).

            God’s love, as expressed through Jesus coming to this earth, cancelled victimhood once and for all. The gospel “cancels” no person. Each is redeemable, no matter how bad their actions may have been in the past, or how bad others’ actions toward them may have been. Jesus is our Redeemer. Jesus is our Refuge. Jesus delivers us from victim to victory.   

by Ed Hersh, Blue Rock BnB Healing Ministry

Birthday Robbery

             A Presidential election is upon us once again.  Political issues come and go, but some issues go far beyond the realm of politics, into existential realities of life itself.  

            One such issue is the gruesome practice of partial-birth abortion.  The procedure is carried out on late-term unborn children who are in most cases able to survive outside the womb.  After the combined decision of a mother not wanting the child and a medical professional who executes the procedure, the baby is killed in the birth canal.  After labor is induced and the baby's head has already appeared in the world, an abortion practitioner uses an instrument to crush the skull.  Then the remaining body of the baby is removed from  its mothers body.   To add to the cruelty, groups like Planned Parenthood (PP) have been caught selling the slaughtered baby's body parts.  PP uses these funds for aborting more babies,  propaganda campaigns disguised as "sex education," and further degrading of women.  This kind of treatment of human beings is barbaric.  It is birthday robbery for thousands of children in the US each year. 

            The debate last week between the two top candidates for President addressed this topic.   Can you believe the activities described above are proudly endorsed by one of the candidates?   The democratic party candidate (with the initials HRC) claims to have a history of advocacy for children.  But her party platform states in writing, and HRC strongly verbalizes her support for partial-birth abortion and PP.  Advocating for children by wishing them dead  is a double standard.   Framing PP as a health-care provider and ignoring their activities of extortion and cover-up is fraud.  This is also called deception.

Franklin Graham has called HRC out on this by saying, "You can't say you've spent your life standing up for children, when you support killing them in the womb." 
            Robbing children of their birthday is only one type of thievery HRC actively participates in.  The corruption of her thirty year political history is too great to list here.  Like never before in the history of Presidential election campaigns, HRC has been in collusion with  national press to influence public opinion in her favor.  The mainstream media has one-sidedly promoted HRC in her defense of PP and partial-birth abortion (and many other issues).  That is a specific type of deception.  It is called propaganda. 

            This powerful lobby doesn't have the final say.  The voters have the final say.  Your vote is your voice on this matter.  If you are  a person who cares about justice for all, I hope your voice will be heard.  Please do not turn your back on the voiceless children, but make sure your vote is counted to support life whenever you have an opportunity to vote.   A Proverb says,

"Rescue those being led away to death;
    hold back those staggering toward slaughter.
 If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,”
    does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who guards your life know it?
    Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?"

Proverbs 24:11-12

            To NOT vote is a vote.  Not voting is a vote for death.  If you are one of those people who says they don't like any of the candidates, then vote WITH the one who has the strongest stand for life (if you feel you cannot vote FOR them).  Voting AGAINST the greatest evil, is better than not voting at all.  Besides, the names on the ballot aren't as important as the party platforms they represent (see my previous blog May God Be Made Great in America, Again).   When a candidate (and platform) confuses a barbaric practice of partial-birth abortion with "reproductive health," that must be called evil.  The ancient Israeli prophet spoke these words, "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness ...  Therefore ...  their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel."  (Isaiah 5:20,24).  Simply put, rejecting God's created design for human life and natural order, creates chaos and irreversible disorder.  

            If you care about America, there are some additional things you can do about this.  First, you can pray.  Humble yourself and seek the face of God Almighty and turn from whatever ways are displeasing to Him.  He responses with healing and forgiveness when hearts are surrendered to Him (see 2 Chronicles 7:14).   Another thing you can do is turn off your TV and refuse to subject your mind to the propaganda campaign.  Abstaining especially from what they call "news," will clear your mind to receive truth in better places (particularly the Bible).  Then, encourage your friends and family to resist the temptation for propaganda as well, and vote for candidates who truly have a record of supporting life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  

            Oh yes, and one more thing.  That same candidate that equated infanticide with advocacy for children also called everyone who disagreed "deplorable" and "irredeemable."  So, am I deplorable if I choose to think about how to avoid doing evil for good and good for evil?  I think not.  I think you are not either.  As Edmund Burke said, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing."   If fighting evil is called deplorable, I'd rather be labeled as such than to do nothing.   

            Irredeemable?   If there would be such a thing as an "irredeemable person," who would decide how to define it?    No person should be declared irredeemable.  Even people who align themselves with a gruesome practice like partial-birth abortion are redeemable.  If one person is declared unworthy of redemption, then the entire human race is equally irredeemable because we are all made of the same stuff.   Thus, when HRC condemned people as irredeemable in her speech, she declared herself, and her own supporters as irredeemable. 

            Do the Democratic party leaders believe in a kind of government that needs to control people in order to  "purify" the population from people they deem as deplorable and irredeemable?  Yes, we heard it directly from the mouth of their candidate running for President and their platform is full of such language.  This is called fascism (belief in a purified superior race).  We need only to look back in history as far as Nazi Germany to see what kind of horrific robbery this imposes on peoples lives.  By the way, PP's founder Margaret Sanger had strong ties to the Nazi leaders and comes from the same philosophy. 

            Politicians may use words to spin people's thinking in a particular direction, but the final authority lies with a higher power.  There is always hope in the Redemption of God's amazing grace.  God's mercy and justice are perfect.  God's actions do not have to satisfy political correctness because they exemplify absolute correctness.  God's vote is the final vote. 

            The One who came into the world to redeem the world (see John 3:16-17) has the final say on this.  True redemption is spiritual.  It is a supernatural event and process.  The primary goal of evil is to steal our redemption.  Jesus himself said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10).  The true nature of the battle against evil is in the spiritual realm.  Jesus came and won  that battle.  The spiritual world has a mirror image in the physical world.  Jesus uses imagery of a thief  seeking to rob a person of life in contrast to the fullness of life he offers as a free gift to all who believe in him.  The thief is the enemy of our soul.  The thief  tries to make people believe they are irredeemable.  The thief tries to rob people of re-birth into an eternal life with God. 

            "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him ..." (John 3:16) is not irredeemably condemned to hell, but will have eternal life.  Surrendering your heart to him washes away guilt and shame.  Even the shame caused by birthday robbery has been taken care of  by the death of Jesus on the cross.   Christ's death resurrection gives each person the chance to be redeemed.  My hope is that you will receive that redeeming power today.   You may disagree, but you are never irredeemable.  by Ed & Stephanie Hersh, Blue Rock BnB Healing Ministry