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

Counter Revolution in Politics

The events of last month surrounding the confirmation by the US Senate of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, revealed a new low for the respect of America’s government, of the people, by the people, and for the people.  

The two major political parties seem to be as far apart as they have ever been.  The written document called the party platform shows the difference of key issues facing the present health and future of our country.  But the dangerous divisions lie even deeper.  We seem to have lost respect and dignity for the process that keeps people on track in assuring virtue and honor are attached to the ideas most valuable for the good of families and communities who make up America.  The biggest problem of all is our distance from respect for God’s ways, and  importance in keeping us on track.  So political power seems more imprtant than it really should be.

This power hungry trend showed up strongly in the confirmation hearings for Judge Kavanaugh. Judge Kavanaugh had gone through the vetting process already a number of times (for the lower court positions he served in), had a proven record for fairness and responsible decision making, and his qualifications were impeccable.  A group of people driven by the ideology of one of the political parties mounted a coordinated effort of falsehoods, character assassination attempts, physical violence, and other tactics demonstrating the lowest level of moral character ever in the history of our political system.

Perhaps most troubling is that this trend downward is encouraged by the top party leadership. Published reports of Hillary Clinton’s comments on 9^th of October quote her as saying there should be civil unrest until their party gets it way. This party’s  Congressional Representatives have made public statements wishing physical harm on political opponents. Other party leaders have made statements that are code words for things like, “lying is okay,” “hurting people is okay if they don’t agree with you,” “whatever it takes to win is justifiable.”  Followers and the sources donating to these political figures are encouraging and  financing mobs to stir up division and unrest, taking forms of racism, sexism, and the like.   

Civil societies must rely on rules of engagement.  Playing a sport is a good illustration of how this works.  Imagine the fans response to a referee who seems to make up the rules as he goes.  From the players perspective, knowing the rules and how they will be interpreted by the referees, is vital to success on the field.  Competent execution of teamwork can only be possible if all the team members are familiar with the rules, and interpreting them as one unit.  Declaring a winner in a game is predicated by both teams playing by the exact same rules.  The referees job is to ensure that happens.   

If our elected officials are the players, then we the voters are the referees.  We are endowed with the task of insisting that these players play by the rules.  Each individuals vote counts toward keeping the elected officials honest in governing so the best interests of the people are served, and not the elected officials themselves.  To vote intelligently, we must make judgment calls regarding actions performed by the players.  In this process truth becomes a vital concern.  

Truth is the foundation for all moral judgment, but truth does not always line up with public opinion.  Public opinion is largely formed by the traditional journalism media. This has become a problem because about 93% of the media endorse one particular political party. This is a serious conflict of interest.   For decades, the media have shown more and more favoritism towards so-called liberal ideology.   The so-called fake news of recent years proves to us that media cannot be trusted for unbiased information upon which to base judgments regarding the best candidates in elections.  Moreover, the party they choose to favor is the party trying to create the most division in our social structure.  

            Several years ago I quit watching network television news for many reasons. It shapes public opinion, one mind at a time.  I realized I could not stay clear of their bias without totally abstaining from their influence on my mind.  I don’t want the negative narratives of the media to influence how I think and respond to life events.  Much of their spin on the truth is designed to create a negative emotional response based on fear.  At best this amounts to manipulation, but at worst this amounts to propaganda and the rapid spread of evil.  Mixing this dynamic into the political arena (for example the way Mr. Kavanaugh was treated), is one of the most dangerous threats to the well-being of our nation.  

I am not saying all this to be alarmist, or to attack specific individuals.  I wish I had more space to share more thoughts and evidence.  Here are some books I’ve read recently, or have on my reading list to reveal the truth.  I encourage the reader to check them out.  A great short book is Andy Andrew’s book called,  “How Do You Kill 11 Million People:  Why the Truth Matters More Than You Think.”  Another book is Eric Bolling’s “Wake Up America: The Nine Virtues That Made Our Nation Great--and Why We Need Them More Than Ever.”   Another is Tucker Carlson’s “Ship of Fools: How a Selfish Ruling Class Is Bringing America to the Brink of Revolution.”   Another is Howard Kurtz’s “Media Madness: Donald Trump, the Press, and the War Over the Truth.”  Former White House spokesman Sean Spicer wrote, “The Briefing: Politics, the Press, and the President.”  Writing from a faith perspective, the well known journalist Joe Bartaglia has written, “The Politically Incorrect Jesus: Living Boldly in a Culture of Unbelief.” Another is Erwin Lutzer’s “The Church in Babylon.”  Authors Eric Metaxas, George Barna, Josh McDowell, and many others are warning of trends that need to be reversed for our nation to survive.  Of course the Bible is the greatest source of truth and books like Proverbs share wisdom that transcends all peoples, places, and times.   

God is the source of all truth.  Respecting God is the beginning of all wisdom (Proverbs).  There was a time in our nation when our leaders showed much more honor for God (and his guidelines for living) than we see presently.  In our system of government, each individual has the responsibility of helping referee our leaders’ commitment to truth.  Our voice (whistle) is a vote in an election.  God followers must pray, engage, and vote for candidates who are demonstrating actions which honor God and honor his created people.  Speech doesn’t cut it. Many candidates say the right words without  actions consistent with a true meaning of their words.  We are called to pray and seek God’s guidance.  

Sometimes it is difficult to discern who is telling the truth.  Seeking out voter guides from reputable organizations who monitor positions valued by people of faith is helpful.  It has become necessary to drastically limit exposure to media with negative narratives to deceive and divide.  We hear a lot of talk about how divided we are, but I think we are more deceived than divided.  We are seeing more and more good-willed people being decieved and believing things that simply are not true.  Don’t allow yourself to be one of them.  

Regardless of political party affiliation (or non-affiliation), we must take seriously our responsiblity to engage our system of government.  We must hold those in office and seeking office to standards of truth.  A quote by Edmond Burke I heard many years ago still rings true, “The only thing necessary for the evil to triumph is that good men do nothing.  History has proven this over and over again.  In the Germany of the 1930’s and 40’s, Deitrich Bonhoeffer also had it right when saying, “Not to speak, is to speak.  Not to act, is to act.”  Hitler’s lies deceived multitutdes because truth was treated casually. Speaking up and taking action are essential.  A person can only be a friend of truth by applying the truth in his or her own life, AND in everything touching their life.   Truth requires participation, or the foes of truth may win.  There is no middle ground. Truth and passivity cannot co-exist.

Prayer is important.  Uniting in prayer with others is also important (see PrayinUnity.org).  But prayer is not a substitute for action.  Becoming informed takes action,   A great source Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), has just launched a 24 hour news channel (see CBNNews.com).  Voting is a necessary action. I heard prayer warrior Cindy Jacobs say, “Voting is a spiritual act because, we are called to steward our nation.”   Some may be called to further action through service in elected or non-elected government offices.  

When I hearChristians say, “politics is not the answer, but Jesus is the answer,” I am in agreement.  However, politics is part of an answer that cannot be avoided.  Living out the Truth in all areas of life is commanded by Christ himself, in order to be called a follower of Christ.  Christ did not come to this earth to bring political revolution, but he did come to bring a counter revolution to political systems.  Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).  The political arena is yet another sphere where the glory of God is meant to shine on the earth.  Let’s do our part in making it happen.  Pray, seek the truth, and take action!

by Ed Hersh, Blue Rock BnB Healing Ministry

Taming Ethnic Tensions

            Seems like just about every conflict between people is being spun by the popular media in America as "racist."  To read more about abuses of the media to propagandize so-called "race" relations, read the book called Mugged: Racist Demagoguery from the Seventies to Obama by Ann Coulter.  One of the fallouts of this propaganda is the emboldening of some individuals who truly harbor hatred in their hearts based on skin color and ethnic background.  The gunman at the A.M.E. church in Charleston, SC two weeks ago seems to be one of these persons.  His actions left nine people dead and grieving families and community members for a lifetime.  Relatively few people allow their hatred to be expressed to this extreme, but it is however, very common for most people to critically prejudge and misjudge people of differing culture and ethnic background. 

            Or is it that only people of ethnic groups other than your own have problems with prejudice?  Is it okay to talk about cultural differences as long as your own cultural beliefs are not challenged as undesirable?  Most people believe they are more open to cultural and ethnic differences than they really are.  The reason is that core beliefs are so rooted in our psyche that we cannot even imagine life different from what is already familiar to us.   An example of two views of the world finding it difficult to communicate would be like an Amish person who never left the family farm in Lancaster, PA understanding the world of a New York City dweller depending on modern technology and street-wise mobility. 

            Many obstacles exist to overcoming cultural and ethnic differences and tensions.  If we somehow overcome the first obstacle of identifying and owning a view of the world that is different from our own, we immediately butt against a second obstacle.  That is, comparing in order to make value judgments.  We elevate our human judgments to supreme authority rather than yielding to the supremacy of God Almighty.  

            From a Christian world view, the God as known in the Bible is the ultimate Judge and supreme authority.  He is all-powerful, yet all-personal, creating each individual human being to bear his image and unique expression of personhood.  Each person is responsible to find and fulfill the innate meaning he or she uniquely contributes to the universe.  God places individuals in families, and families in communities, and communities in a global interdependence. 

            God is the giver of life.  All human life is created equal thus there is only one human race.    Life's deepest meaning is found in honoring God, and other human beings.  Because the first sin of Adam and Eve broke their perfect relationship with God, every person is born since then with a skewed perception of God, himself, and other people.  Like orphaned children the identity and protection of Father's love has been removed.  The default nature of each person born into the human race is sinful and motivated by shame and guilt.  Mankind is helpless and this condition can only be corrected by God himself.  God our Father restores us to son or daughter status only through His very own Son Jesus Christ.  By believing in Jesus we are born again into a new life with our guilt forgiven  and shame washed away. 

            This new life does not mean perfection or a pain-free life.  If means we have begun a process of becoming a son or daughter of a perfect God of justice and mercy.  This process involves change of both our mind and heart.  Our fundamental makeup as a human being does not change, but we must surrender to Father our perceptions of God, ourselves and other people to be changed.  God is our most valuable resource to be able to better see the value in cultures and ethnicity different from our own.  We need God's help (through his Holy Spirit) to recover our God-given identity and purpose for being.

            God also created in each individual a need to relate to other individuals for completion of their identity and purpose.  This need to relate extends to families, communities, and entire race of human beings.  No man, family, or community (culture or ethnicity) is an "island."   The Bible speaks of followers of Jesus as a Body.  Even more so than other people groups, Christ's Body should model diversity of ethnicity working together as one body for the betterment of all parts. 

            So how does a person see past their own cultural blinders and wrestle with their value system to know how to change?  A person's well-intentioned beliefs and values  do not automatically produce  actions that line up with those values.  This is where many people get stuck.  They know and want to do what is right, but for a variety of reasons (too numerous to discuss here), fail to follow through.  Treating others with dignity and equality requires a motivation of love.  Peter in the Bible writes, "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8).  But as noted above, we must contend with our default negative human responses.  Love does not come natural, but takes a lot of effort to practice.  A primary enemy of love is critical judgment.  whether a person is a Christian or not, critically judging and condemning others (done by individuals or groups is the single most destructive force behind cultural and ethnic conflict).

            Critical judgment surfaces through one of three main forms--complaining, blaming, and justifying.  Examples of complaining are complaining of other people seemingly enjoying a better lifestyle than you, easier access to opportunity, or a privileged status of perceived superiority.   Blaming might include labeling another group as trouble makers, not taking responsibility for your own part in causing strained relations, or repeatedly pointing out others' faults without admitting your own.  Justifying may include holding bitterness and resentment instead of forgiving, requiring someone else to change before you consider changing your own behavior, or making excuses for your own prideful or vengeful actions toward others.  Instead of allowing ourselves to complain, blame, or justify, we should take steps to get the facts, assess what can or cannot be done about a problem, and do our best to stay focused on positive change.

            Ethnic tensions are tamed when individuals are willing to look at the roots of their critical judgments.  A most important question becomes, "What core values, beliefs, and assumptions are unconsciously driving your  thoughts, feelings, and behavior?"  If the default direction is toward the negative (as discussed  above), it takes a heart transformation to reverse the patterns.  The root of all ethnic conflict can be traced to the condition of the hearts of the individual people in the groups.  All mankind has the same heart tendencies irregardless of skin color, cultural background, physical distinctives/ limitations, or ethnic preferences.

            OR, since the heart condition is the core issue, another way of  looking at ethnic tensions, is that it's not about the ethnicity at all. It's just about people differences. Ethnicity becomes just one of those differences to complain about, blame someone for, or justify away a fundamental poor heart condition.  Yes, ethnicity (parent's background) is the strongest influencer of who we are in terms of personality, socio-economic status, and outlook on the future.  That's why it's become popular in the media to propagandize so-called racial tensions.  They are messing with peoples' emotions, because they understand the heart tendency to complain, blame, and justify.   Hopefully after reading this you won't be fooled by them any more!  

            Especially during the last 15 years of my life, I have made a special effort to develop some significant relationships with people other than my own skin color and ethnic background.  My experiences with these people have been very enlightening and rewarding. I've discovered as much, and perhaps more, about myself and my own biases as I have discovered those of other people.  Ralph Waldo Emerson is quoted as saying, "The only way to have a friend is to be one."  May I leave you with a challenge not to merely tolerate people different than you are, but befriend them! 

                Note:   The book Escaping the Pain of Offense: Empowered to Forgive from the Heart discusses themes of dealing with disappointments, offense and finding freedom in forgiveness.  This book is designed to help people (especially in the Christian faith)  to discover and dislodge things in life that lead to defeat. Don't miss out on your chance to use this book as a helpful tool in discovering Refuge in Christ. It can be purchased by clicking here: http://bluerockbnb.com/healing/book_main.htm . If you get anywhere near Pennsylvania for vacation or on business, be sure to look us up for lodging at  http://bluerockbnb.com 

by Ed Hersh, Blue Rock BnB Healing Ministry