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

Thirst for Justice

            So as a good person, you want to live a godly, fulfilling and productive life in the midst of (or in spite of) a world of imperfection and injustice.  Sometimes it seems impossible, right?  If you’re like me, frustration and disappointment seem to be a greater part of my experiences than I would like them to be.  For example, how do we reconcile, or “live in harmony” with someone who wants nothing of it.  Or how do you work as a team when one or more of the so-called team members are  controlling or even a bit manipulative?    Or maybe your own limitations or failures are holding you back from accomplishing greater things.  Whether or not other people change, we can  experience the peace and rest of God that our heart longs for. 

            In order for you to be more tolerant with yourself and others, it is essential for you to understand a human being’s thirst for justice and the “will to judge.” 

            The English word “judge” can mean  many things across a spectrum of “good” judging and “bad” judging.  Good judging may include rightly perceiving,  discerning, and discriminating. “Bad” judging is unfair criticizing, pre-judging, misjudging, demeaning, and condemning.  Communication via language can be very difficult, but with this word "judge," it can be especially  difficult to determine  meaning.  For example, the word  discrimination.  Discrimination is a word of "good" judgment, hijacked in recent years to be widely associated with unfairness.  In other languages, the problem is the same (like the Greek of Bible translations).  Understanding our problems of "bad" judging requires much more than intellect and reason.  It must include searching the inner heart of our own being. 

            Desire for justice is an innate part of our being.  Unfortunately, since the moment sin entered the human race through Adam and Eve, our default mode of judging is “bad” judging.  When man chose to give up existing solely on the “tree of life,” he chose “the tree of the  knowledge of good and evil.”   Judging (in the sense of knowing good from evil) was not originally meant for human practice.  Only God is the ultimate Judge.  God's laws (ways of operating) are supreme.  Therefore, any judgment a person makes, (even a “good” judgment), is subject to re-interpretation by a higher power.  Only God can satisfy our ultimate desire for justice.  God is a God of perfect justice and perfect mercy.

            So, although God did not design and desire man to carry the burden of judgment, the problem is that man wills to be his own Judge.  Our human nature does not want to accept God as Judge.  However, God is Judge, Jury, and Executioner.  He makes judgments, is not subject to anyone else’s interpretation, and acts as He wills on His judgments.   Our rebellion against this authority is sin. 

            One more problem makes the human condition inescapable without Christ as Refuge.  Shame and judgment work together to condemn our personhood.  Shame tells us we are not worthy to be the sons and daughters God created us to be (which is a lie).  We confuse shame (who I am) with guilt (what I do) to condemningly judge ourselves unworthy.  

            This rebellion and shame is so rooted in our nature we accept it as a fact of life.  It shows up in the earliest days of childhood.  Babies have legitimate needs and cry when they are hungry or uncomfortable.  But they sometimes scream  in anger for no apparent reason.  Toddlers sometimes through tantrums simply to demand their way.  Children do not have to be taught how to disobey, steal, manipulate, and the like.  The broken world in which we live imposes hurtful experiences causing perceived wounds and reactions ("bad" roots) of bitterness, resentment, blaming, and justifying.  Reactions turn into learned patterns of behavior forming who we are on the inside.   It is important to recognize, what goes wrong in our life is not because of the bad things others have done to us, but because of our bitter reactions to them. 

            We also do not have ability to  recognize this poor condition.  Each person is blind (for the most part) to their own bitter reactions, wounding, and critically judging.  Our heart could be compared to a vegetable garden with good plants and weeds growing together.  The soil feeds the roots of both good plants and bad.  The good plants try to bring forth fruit in keeping with what they were designed to produce, unaware of the weeds stealing nourishment and limiting their ability to produce.  God as the Gardener of our heart is the only one who can solve the problem by providing a means for taking care of the weed problem. 

            No garden will ever be completely free of weeds.  Even after a good weed pulling session, seeds are in the soil that will eventually produce more weeds.  The seeds of sin are with us as long as we live. Its an unending problem and just part of natural laws.  So too our hearts produce weeds as part of our natural existence. The nicest, most good-hearted, loving person carries the same seed as the most inconsiderate, unloving, or abusive person.  Even unrecognized or unacknowledged bad behaviors (rooted in bad judging) will  grow into unmanageable weeds.  Only the Gardener can take care of the weeds. 

Jesus is the Gift God provided to make things right in our heart.  The miracle cannot be finished with one weed pulling session.  It takes a lifetime of pulling weeks.  This is called transformation and sanctification. 

            The greatest enemy in the garden of the heart is the will to critically judge.  Our deep desire for justice becomes an excuse for condemning ourselves and other people for who they are instead of merely for their actions.  We explain away many condemning judgments on a daily basis.  For example, when you think or verbalize the following with a person or persons closest to you in relationship.  "I told you a million times not to do ____ (whatever annoys you )______ , but you keep being a jerk about it."   Or, "You really don't love me when you __________."  Or, "I cannot love you if you keep doing __________ ."   Or, "Drivers on the highway are jerks when they __________ ."   We accuse and confuse the guilt of "wrong doing" with the shame of "wrong being."  In God's eyes (judgment)  there is no such thing as "wrong being."   God does not think of any person as a jerk.  So, if we believe in justice, we cannot think and act that way either. 

            Again, there is no one exempt from this condition of humanity.  No amount of will power can correct it.   Instead of the "tree of judging" God wants us to enjoy the "tree of life."   Eating fruit from the tree of life means that our thirst for justice is satisfied by the Judge of all judges, not by our own self-determination.  God judged sin and shame to be taken care of through the mercy provided by His own Son, Jesus Christ.

            Other articles on my blog site explain how to apply this to your life through forgiveness and surrendering our heart to God.   If this way of thinking is new to you, or if you had a reaction to something I've written above, go back and read it again.   I promise that if you learn to apply this truth to your life, you will see a huge improvement in your relationships with people.   I would love to hear from you  about how this has made a difference in your life (either before or after reading this). 

            Be blessed in the justice of God Almighty!

             

Note:   A book I authored Escaping the Pain of Offense: Empowered to Forgive from the Heart discusses truth for dealing with disappointments, offense and finding freedom through forgiveness (from a Christian perspective).  See more about the book by clicking here: http://bluerockbnb.com/healing/book_main.htm . 

by Ed Hersh, Blue Rock BnB Healing Ministry