We have been addressing the theme of self-government, and considering that as the foundation of every other form of lawful and limited government. A nation of slaves to sin and vice can never be a free people. They are far too easily threatened, manipulated, seduced, and bribed. They will trade away the most precious liberties for the most contemptible baubles and trifles.
I have been speaking of various external vices in this regard—smoking dope, using porn, drunkenness, and so on. But we also need to reflect on the need for self-control where the lack of self-control first begins to manifest itself—in the realm of the emotions.
We live in a generation that measures truth by what the loudest and shrillest feel should be true. This is why our culture is now dominated by the offended, the hurt, and the aggrieved. But before developing this, an important boundary has to be set. Those who have truly been abused deserve nothing from us but compassion. Those who have been mistreated by the cruelties of the wicked should not have to contend against the cruelties of the church as well.
I make this distinction because we have to deal with the fact that we live in a time when “abused” and “feeling abused” are treated as the same thing. A true victim and a false victim are merged into one, and objective realities don’t matter anymore.
Children who are pampered and spoiled with regard to their passions are being catechized in this approach. Instead of bringing their emotions in line with God’s Word and the hard realities of God’s world, the demand is made to have the world, and then the Word, cater to their passions.
And so, with fits of temper tolerated, with bursts of passion bribed and bought off, with petulant selfishness indulged, what do you think will happen when such children grow up into the overwhelming adult passions? If they can’t run with men, how will they run with horses? So if you want to know what it would be like to be governed by toddlers out of temper, look around.
I hesitate to laugh at this because I know how true it has become. Should I cry instead?
“I make this distinction because we have to deal with the fact that we live in a time when “abused” and “feeling abused” are treated as the same thing. A true victim and a false victim are merged into one, and objective realities don’t matter anymore.” I think what is being missed here is that there are no “false victims.” There are false accusations and misdirection, but what is at the core of all that behavior is still wounding, brokenness, victimization. Who in our culture has not been “mistreated by the cruelties of the wicked?” So a man hollering about… Read more »
Non-justifed feelings shouldn’t be treated as valuable.
A good reminder, thank you.
quote: “I think what is being missed here is that there are no “false victims.” There are false accusations and misdirection, but what is at the core of all that behavior is still wounding, brokenness, victimization.”
Sure. That’s what the Bible tells us, right? No such thing as sinners, only victims. (sarcasm)
Isn’t that what wounding and brokenness is? Isn’t that the result of sin? Isn’t the world just one tangled mess of sin? The bible tells us “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.”
So it seems to me as if the world keeps looking at sin as if we can assign fault and blame to it, divide ourselves into worthy victims and unworthy victims or “false and true victims” as Wilson indicated. Who that walks among us has figured out how to not be a victim of sin? It just isn’t possible.
I think that’s true enough, so far as it goes. But consider that if false feelings of victimization stem from wounding and brokenness, so too theft and murder. All of these are sinful, and all evince some one among the various varieties of brokenness and wounding to which our mortal flesh is heir.
Yet with some of these our posture has to be a little more direct, because along with sympathy we must speak truth.
The problem is not that we have all suffered from the wages of sin (that which we have committed against others and that which has been inflicted upon us). The problem consists in the fact that we allow ourselves to be defined by our victim-hood. The world says you are a victim but Christ says you are a new creation, a new man in Him. Who are you going to believe? Don’t allow yourself to be defined by what your flesh and the world say about you. Walk by faith.
Amen
Yep. And there are a group of bloggers that focus on victims, always taking their side and putting 100% blame on some male “cult leader.” Some of them tried to make Lourdes Torres Mauntafel (of Doug Phillips infamy) the Mother Teresa of the Evangelical world. But within months of getting married, she cheated on her husband–something predicted by others in the non-hyper-victimization blogosphere.
‘I think what is being missed here is that there are no “false victims.”‘ True, there are no false victims. One either is a victim or not. “Feelings are a reaction to our thoughts about our experiences.” And our reactions are based on our perceptions. Perception is the lens through which we view reality. As you say, all of us have wounds, and our perception is skewed. Rather than adjusting the world to our perception, we need to adjust our perception to the reality of God’s Word. Healthy healing does not occur without a willingness to allow proper care. The… Read more »
This is a difficult mess to try to sort out. I think there was a time in our culture when people did not want others to see them as victims. They did not want special treatment, and they wanted others to see them as strong and capable. When something awful happened to them, they looked forward to getting better to the point that no more special treatment was necessary. There could be a downside to this outlook because people sometimes went without care they actually needed. But I think today we are only too willing to see ourselves as victims,… Read more »
“We see young people demanding that places be emotionally safe–not realizing that there is really no such thing as emotional safety while we are in this vale of tears.” I believe there is! I believe Jesus Christ is our safety. He’s our cornerstone, our advocate. So when the younguns are all feeling emotionally unsafe, we don’t mock and ridicule them for their feelings, we point them to safety, we spread the gospel. Also “the church” itself, all of us, can be incredibly “pampered and spoiled, with petulant selfishness indulged,” while sneering down at those we all presume are just in… Read more »
I hope I would never mock anyone for his or her feelings even when I don’t understand them. But, as I see it, our experience of Jesus is partly dependent on how it is mediated to us through the church. And, as you note, the church can let us down in the areas where we are already most damaged. This is why I stress the need for emotional toughness and resilience. I don’t mean that we should be tough with others; with them we should be gentle and compassionate. But I personally see no way to navigate our way through… Read more »
Matthew 5:10-12 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Jilly and Memi, here, in God’s Word, is where your ideas comport. Jilly, (and many Catholics) understand that suffering is part of the deal, here on earth, even when we are in God’s hands.… Read more »
“Discipline your son, for there is hope; do not set your heart on putting him to death” (Prov. 19:18, ESV). It’s cruel not to give your children the gift of teaching them self-control.
I agree, and I wish I had been better at teaching that lesson.
Doug, your arguments for 100% prohibition on weed (including medical, low dose, and CBD heavy) need much more work. Currently I don’t smoke, and I would have no problem obstaining 100% if I joined your church. This would be the same as if you had a 100% prohibition on eating snails, but I would still not be convinced. The best arguments that I have heard from you regarding medical is you and Ben laughing. This is not really convincing or your normative par excellence. Also please address varying degrees of THC and CBD and dosage. I know it’s easy to… Read more »