FACING GUILT

Hebrews 10:22

   … let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

                It was time for music in Mr. Welsh’s 5^th grade class. Mr. Welsh announced that we were going to sing as a class. There had been an issue with boys in the class not participating during music time. Mr. Welsh announced that he would be closely watching on this day, and if a person didn’t sing, they would have to stand in front of the entire class and sing the song again. Being the compliant child that I was, I sang with all of the gusto of a 5^th grader. Once the song was finished, Mr. Welsh began his slow walk up and down the aisles of the classroom. One by one he tagged certain boys and sent them to the front of the room. When he got to me, I looked up at him and blurted out, “I was singing.” “A guilty conscience needs no accuser. Go to the front of the room.” I was devastated as I trudged to the front of the room to join the group of sullen boys.

                I have been plagued all of my life with an overactive sense of guilt. In school, when someone acted up in class, I felt guilty, like somehow it was my fault. It is not that I haven’t done things for which I should genuinely feel guilty. It is that at times I feel guilty for things that I had nothing to do with or had no control over. Yesterday I had a conversation with a friend about a sensitive social issue, and I went away with a nagging sense of guilt.

                Guilt is a consequence of sin in our world. Before Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, guilt was not an issue. When they lived in harmony with God, they were free from guilt. But, as soon as they disobeyed God’s command, they were overwhelmed by guilt. Their sense of guilt separated them from fellowship with God and from one another. They became self-conscious and hid. When they were confronted with their sin, they responded with excuses.

                We tend to respond to guilt in similar ways. When we feel guilty, we tend to hide from others. We try to cover ourselves, so as not to expose our guilt. When we are confronted, we tend to make excuses, rather than take responsibility for our actions.

                Some in our world today would have us believe that guilt is unhealthy and should be eliminated. Instead of feeling guilty for our actions, we rationalize them. We no longer sin; we make bad choices. We are no longer responsible for our actions; we are the product of our environment. We find ways to ignore or diminish our feelings of guilt.

                Guilt is a natural consequence to sin in our lives. But not all guilt is the same. There is a positive and a negative side to guilt. Guilt can be used by the Holy Spirit to draw us back to God. Guilt can be used by Satan to push us away from God.

                Guilt is always a call for us to examine our lives. Guilt is a symptom that something is wrong. Guilt is a byproduct not the end product. If we focus on eliminating our guilt but do not address the core issue, then we are just masking the problem. Guilt is like having a high fever or a pain in the shoulder. We can try to eliminate the fever or the pain, but if we don’t deal with its cause, it will be back.

                God wants to use guilt as a guard rail to keep us on track. The Bible tells us that this is one of the primary roles of the Holy Spirit.

    When he (the Holy Spirit) comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. (John 16:8-11)

                The Holy Spirit uses guilt to inform, instruct, and correct. He never uses it to demean or destroy. His goal is to awaken us to the reality that we have strayed from God’s path and to guide us back. Holy guilt will always lead us back to Christ. As David said in Psalm 51, against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. All sin is ultimately an offense against God. But by His grace and mercy, He offers us forgiveness and restoration. Holy guilt is always an invitation to come back to God.

                Satan uses guilt to degrade and destroy us. He isolates us in our guilt by convincing us that we are unique and that no one else would understand. He twists our thinking by telling us that what we did was not so bad. He often gets us to compare our actions with others and so excuse ourselves. He also tells us that God doesn’t love us anymore. We have crossed the line of no return, so there is no point in going back. Unholy guilt makes us calloused to sin. Over time, we stop feeling guilty and move farther away from God. Satan keeps us off balance by magnifying our guilt and then excusing it. Satan wants to use our guilt to drive a wedge between us and God.

                We should not ignore our guilt. It is there to serve a purpose. When we feel guilty, the first thing we should do is examine our hearts and look for the cause. Once we have identified the cause, then we need to respond in an appropriate way. We need to take our guilt to God and ask for His forgiveness and cleansing. If we have done this and the guilt persists, we need to examine where the guilt is coming from. Is there still something else we need to address in order to draw near to God? Or is Satan leveraging our guilt to push us away from God? If are guilt is from Satan, instead of dwelling on it, we need to rebuke him and claim the forgiveness that we have in Christ.

                Throughout my life, Satan has used guilt to draw me into myself. At times, my sense of guilt has made me fearful and isolated. But praise God that I have been set free from guilt and shame. Through Christ I have received forgiveness and cleansing. I still struggle with guilt, often justified, sometimes nebulous and undefined. But I know where to take my guilt; to the throne of God. Jesus took my sin and guilt to the cross. There He paid the penalty on my behalf. Because of what He has done for me, I have been set free from unholy guilt and shame.

Hebrews 10:19-23

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

   

UNDERSTANDING OUR FREEDOM

Galatians 5:13

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.

                There is no doubt that we have problems in our society. Our system is flawed, as all systems are. There is inequality that needs to be addressed. Having said that, we also have incredible freedom. In America we have the freedom to assemble, the freedom to speak our mind, the freedom to move freely throughout our country, the freedom to choose where we will live and work and play. I understand that there are limits on these freedoms and that not everyone experiences them at the same level. Yet, they are there.

                What is often missing in our society today is the understanding that with freedom comes responsibility. Our freedom does not give us the right to do whatever we wish. In fact, our freedom is granted to us only as we take the responsibility seriously and live within its boundaries. When we step over those boundaries, we lose our freedom. Freedom grants us a certain level of liberty, but it does not grant us license. When we don’t understand this, we jeopardize the very thing we desire the most.

                As citizens we have the freedom to assemble. We can assemble for worship, for entertainment, for pleasure, and even for protest. But this freedom does not give us the right to riot or destroy property, no matter how “worthy” the cause. As citizens we the freedom to express our opinions. We can debate and discuss issues. We can lobby for specific actions or causes. We can make our voice heard. But this freedom does not give us the right to demean, degrade, or abuse others. As long as our discourse is civil, we are free, when it becomes abusive, we forfeit our freedom. True freedom is not unlimited, it has boundaries and it carries responsibilities.

                As followers of Jesus Christ, we have been set free in an ultimate sense. We have been set free from our slavery to sin and death. We have been set free from the demands of the Law. We have been set free to enter into a real, dynamic, personal relationship with the Living God. As Jesus said in John 8:34-36, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

                This is one of the most amazing truths in the Bible. We all go through life as slaves to sin. We are dominated by sin. Although we think we are free, we are in reality bound. When Jesus comes into our lives, we are set free from our bondage to sin. No longer does sin have control of our lives. By the grace of God, we have been given an amazing gift; the gift of genuine freedom.

                With this new freedom comes great responsibility. As slaves to sin, we lived our lives for ourselves. Sin convinced us that we are the most important person in the world and that whatever makes us happy is within our rights to pursue. We see this acted out in our world every day. No matter how it is dressed up, selfishness and self-centeredness rule the day. But when we are set free from our own selfishness, our lives become other directed. The focus of our life shifts from indulging ourselves to seeking the good of others. Jesus summarized our new focus in Mark 12:30-31. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these.”

                When Jesus sets us free, we are called to a higher life. We are free to live the life God created us to live. Our freedom is not a blank check to do whatever we wish. It is the freedom to really love and care for others; to seek their best and to love them as Christ loves them. As Jesus said in John 13:34-35, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." The freedom we have in Christ empowers us to be kind, compassionate, forgiving, encouraging, supportive, and unselfish. We don’t do these things to impress others or earn merit. We do them as a natural response to the mercy and grace of God in our lives.

                The two biggest threats to our freedom are legalism and license. Legalism restricts our freedom in unhealthy ways. It leads to a self-righteous attitude that judges others based on our set of rules. On the other hand, license flaunts our freedom. It takes off all of the boundaries and runs wild. License indulges our sinful desires. Both of these threats lead us back into bondage.

                True freedom is accepting and understanding both the responsibilities and the boundaries of our freedom. It is recognizing the limits that God has placed on our freedom, without adding to those limits. It is recognizing the amazing latitude that we have, without stepping over God’s boundaries. Genuine freedom is allowing others the same freedom that we enjoy. Freedom is not a limited commodity to be horded. It is a gift to the shared.

Galatians 5:1

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

   

Is Our Faith Theory or Practice?

James 1:22

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

                This past week we have been watching a BBC series called Himalaya with Michael Palin. Michael journeyed from one end of the Himalayas to the other, encountering various groups of people along the way. The dominate religious forces in that region of the world are Hinduism and Buddhism. In one episode, Michael had a conversation with a prominent woman in a remote village. During their conversation, he asked her about her Buddhist faith. Her response was telling. She stated that Buddhism is not a religion so much as a way of life. Everything that they do is informed by their faith. Her words were challenging to me. Is my faith a religion that I keep in a corner of my life or is it a way of life that informs everything that I do?

                In Western culture, we have become experts are compartmentalizing our lives. We see different aspects of our lives as separate entities that do not necessarily affect one another. We separate our private life from our public life. We separate our work life from our family life. We separate our secular life from our religious life. It is not uncommon for us to act one way in one part of our life and act totally differently in another part of our life. Instead of an integrated life, we often live a segmented life.

                This raises a significant question for those of us who are followers of Christ. Is our faith strictly theoretical or is our faith practical? Is our faith just one segment of our life that we visit periodically or does our faith inform every aspect of our life?

                The Apostle James made it very clear that a theoretical faith is no faith at all. If our faith does not inform every aspect of our lives it is merely a nice theory. In fact, James takes it one step further. If our faith does not shape how we live our lives, then our faith is dead. As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. (James 2:26)

                It is common for evangelicals to say that Christianity is not a religion it is a relationship with Jesus. That sounds great in theory, but it is hollow if it does not manifest itself in specific actions. Jesus challenged those who gave lip service to their faith by saying why do you call me Lord if you don’t do what I command you to do.

                If the Christian life is not a practical part of all that we do, it is nothing at all. The danger is that we begin to think that we have to “act religious” all of the time. That is not what I am saying at all. What I am saying is that our faith needs to inform all that we do, just as the life of a genuine Buddhist is guided by their faith. Therefore, we need to live our lives in way that glorifies God. As Paul says in Colossians 3:17, And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. In practical terms, this is more about how we live our life, not necessarily what we do.

                When Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment, He responded with a two-fold answer; Love God with all that you are and love your neighbor as yourself. This two-fold commandment should inform everything that we do in life. We need to live our day-to-day lives in such a way that we are honoring God and valuing those around us. The New Testament is permeated with admonitions to show our love for God by the way we treat the people He brings into our lives. Therefore, we are commanded to be kind, compassionate, forgiving, merciful, gentle, self-controlled, joyful, helpful. As Paul states in Philippians 2:4, Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

                A genuine faith in Jesus Christ is pragmatic and practical. It shapes how we do what we do, whether that is preaching a sermon or fixing someone’s plumbing. If our faith is just a nice theory, it has no real power. But if our faith is active and practical, it has the power to change our lives and our world. Although we cannot agree with their view of life, we can take a powerful lesson from our Buddhist friends. Our faith cannot be just a religion, it must be a way of life.

Philippians 4:8-9

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

   

BOOKS

Ecclesiastes. 12:12

Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.

Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.

                I am a book person in an age of podcasts and e-books. I like the feel of a book in my hand. I like the ability to easily flip back and forth through the pages. I like the sight of a bookshelf lined with multiple volumes. For the past 38 years I have challenged myself to be an active reader. I have kept a list of all of the ministry related books that I have read over that time. In addition, I have an entire bookcase filled with books that I have read for fun. When I find an author that I like, I tend to read everything that that author has written.

                Yesterday I spent a good chunk of the day sorting and rearranging the books in my temporary office. When we moved into our new home, I just emptied boxes of books and put them on shelves in no particular order. That made it impossible for me to find the books that I was looking for. So I bit the bullet and I pulled all of my books off of the shelves and sorted them by author or by category. I replaced them on the shelves in such a way that I can at least find an author or a category of book more easily.

                When we left Mankato, I went through the books in my office and at home and culled out several boxes full. I thought I had done a good job of paring down my library. When we moved into our new home, I realized that I still have more books than I can easily accommodate. Most of my shelves are double lined with books. As I reorganized yesterday, I culled out a few more books. I still have too many.

                As a book person, there is a constant battle with controlling the accumulation of books. I prefer to buy books than borrow them, so I tend to hang onto them. I have had to become more ruthless in deciding which books I want to keep and which I need to pass on to others. The irony of this is that I want to write books myself. I want to write the kind of books that people will want to keep and go back to again and again. That may never happen, but it is a dream I have.

                For years I have heard of the ultimate demise of the traditional book. It has been stated with authority that within my lifetime printed books will become a thing of the past. Yet in 2019 there where 689.45 million books sold in the US. Each year new books are being written, printed and sold in bookstores, airports, Walmart, and grocery stores. Although a Kindle may be convenient, for many people it will never replace sitting under the shade of a tree or on the beach with a good book in hand.  

                As a pastor, books are the tools of my trade. I turn to books to gain insights and knowledge that I can pass on to others. I look to books to guide me through difficult situations that I might face. I seek out books that challenge me to grow in my faith and as a person. I also want to be inspired by books. Of course, the most important book on my shelf is the Bible. As I was sorting through my books, I discovered that that I have 20 copies of the Bible in various translations and forms. I have several study Bibles, several devotional Bibles, and multiple translations of the Bible. I don’t use all of them at the same time, but I do refer to them to get a different perspective or see things from a different angle. Although I have shelves of books from authors that I enjoy reading, it is the Bible I turn to every day. It is the Bible that contains the words of life.

                Many people, especially men, will say that they are just not readers. I get it. Growing up, I was not a reader. I read slowly and struggled to maintain my concentration. But reading, like everything else in life, takes disciple and practice. Yes, it is hard at first, but once you get past the initial struggle with reading, you discover an amazing world has opened up to you. It is really not about how many books you read, but about making reading a regular part of your life.

                As believers in Christ, learning to be an active reader is an essential aspect of our spiritual growth. Of course, we need to be reading God’s Word regularly. In addition, we need to be reading both new and old books about the faith. We are so used to being spoon fed our theology that we have forgotten what it means to really explore it. Reading widely can help us to develop our spiritual muscles. It can help us to sort through all of the transient trends and fads and focus on the real meat of our faith. It can help us correct our course when we get off track. It can spur us on to grow in new areas or advance in areas where we thought we had arrived.

                My Aunt Mil was an avid reader. She went to bed every night with a book and a cup of Nescafe coffee. As I was growing up, she did everything in her power to encourage me to become a reader. Unfortunately, she passed away before she saw her efforts pay off. What often gets in the way of many of us is that we are forced to read. Anything we are forced to do, we resist. I have become an active reader by choice. When we choose on our own to read, it becomes a joy, not a burden.

                As believers in Christ we often affirm that the Bible is our ultimate guide of faith and practice. But if we are not actively reading the Bible, then that statement is a hollow platitude. If the Bible is really going to transform our lives, then we need to read it cover to cover, over and over again.

Psalm 119:105

Your word is a lamp to my feet

and a light for my path.

**************

I encourage you to check out some of these authors.

For spiritual growth:

Tim Keller

John Piper

Andy Stanley

C.S. Lewis

G.K. Chesterton

F. LaGard Smith

Philip Yancey

For fun:

Jeff Shaara: historical novels

Agatha Christy: mystery stories

Susan Elia MacNeal: mystery stories

James R. Benn: WWII mystery stories

Sigurd Olson: nature stories

LIVING IN EXILE

Psalm 6:3

My soul is in anguish.

How long, O Lord, how long?

                Because of the current pandemic, it has been months since we have been able to regularly meet with others in corporate worship. We have been taking advantage of on-line worship services, but it is not the same as gathering with others in person. Within the past few days, the Governor of California reinstituted a ban on all large, corporate gatherings, including churches. Although we are still able to go out in public, duly masked, it feels a little like we are living in exile. We are living in a strange, foreign land that does not seem at all like home.

                Because of their sin and rebellion, God allowed the Babylonians to overrun Judah and to take her people away in exile. They remained in exile for a very long time. The people of Judah were discouraged and demoralized. They were forced to live in a strange, foreign land. Their hearts broke as they thought of what they had lost. The Psalmist captured their mood in Psalm 137.

Psalm 137:1-4

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept

when we remembered Zion.

There on the poplars

   we hung our harps,

for there our captors asked us for songs,

our tormentors demanded songs of joy;

they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"

 How can we sing the songs of the Lord

        while in a foreign land?

                There are many believers and non-believers who could echo those words today. Many people feel like their joy has been robbed from them. They long to go back to the way things were before the pandemic. Unfortunately, everything we are hearing suggests that we will have to adjust to a new normal; we will continue to live in a foreign land for some time to come.

                As believers in Christ, the question we have to ask is how will we live in this foreign land, this new normal. What does God expect of us as we live in this social exile? I think the answer can be found in Jeremiah 29.

  This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have.

Jeremiah 29:4-8

                God has more in mind for this exile than for us to just grit our teeth and endure it. God has allowed us to go into exile to refine us and to draw us to Himself. Instead of withdrawing from the world around us, God wants us to be agents of hope and transformation. He is calling us to actively seek the peace and prosperity of our communities, for our good and His glory. Instead of hanging our harps in the branches of the trees and living in doom and gloom, we need to be singing the praises of Him who calls us out of the darkness into His marvelous light.

                We may be in this pandemic for a long time to come. We can choose discouragement or even rebellion, but that will only make our situation worse. Or we can choose to take positive steps to make the most of this opportunity. We can begin by encouraging one another through letters, emails, phone calls or personal conversations (at an appropriate social distance). We can also lead the way in our communities by supporting the efforts of our leaders to stop the spread of this virus that is having such a devastating effect on our world. Instead of rebelling against the guidelines that have been put in place, let us fully embrace them and be an active part of the solution.

                God had a reason for sending the people of Judah into exile. God has a reason for allowing this pandemic to continue. I don’t presume to know God’s reasons, but I do know that God wants to use this to refine us and to advance His Kingdom. We may feel like we are living in exile, but we are not a defeated people. We are the people of God and we can still make a difference in our world.

Ephesians 5:15-20

    Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

   

LORD OF ALL CREATION

Psalm 24:1

Of David. A psalm.

The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it,

the world, and all who live in it;

                When we first considered purchasing our new home, we checked out what the weather was normally like in the area. We were pleased to see that, on average, this area had only one or two days of 90 or above and only two or three days below zero. We were delighted. The reality of our first summer here has been a different story. We have had multiple days of 90 and above with high humidity. Not at all what we expected. Several people have told us that this has not been a normal summer.

                We are living in a time of unprecedented climate change. It is common to hear that we are experiencing record high temperatures, record high flooding, record high incident of tornadoes, etc. It seems like our entire ecosystem has gone haywire.

                The book of Revelation tells us that as we draw closer to the end of time, natural disasters will become more frequent and more severe. John makes it clear that God allows this in order to call people to repentance. Yet John also records that many people, instead of repenting, will complain and turn away from God.

                In my devotions last week, I read Psalm 24 every day. It begins with these words.

The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it,

the world, and all who live in it;

for he founded it upon the seas

and established it upon the waters.

                David boldly declares that the world we live in is firmly in the hands of God. He created it and He sustains it. So why are we facing all of these troubles? The answer is our own sin and rebellion. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, one of the consequences was that all of creation was affected. What had been a positive cooperation between nature and humanity, became a battle.

To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,'

"Cursed is the ground because of you;

through painful toil you will eat of it

all the days of your life.

It will produce thorns and thistles for you,

and you will eat the plants of the field.

By the sweat of your brow

you will eat your food

until you return to the ground,

since from it you were taken;

for dust you are

and to dust you will return."

 (Genesis 3:17-19)

                In Romans 8, Paul reminds us that God has a higher purpose for allowing the distortion of His creation.  He is using creation to call humanity to repentance and redemption. The clear message is that it is time to get right with God.

    I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

    We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. (Romans 8:18-22)

                We are not in control of the world around us and we never will be, no matter how hard we try. The good news is that there is a day coming when God through Christ will make everything right again. He will restore His creation to its perfect state and invite all who have placed their faith in Him to enjoy this new creation for all of eternity.

Revelation 21:1

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.

                In light of all that is going on in our world and the eventual outcome, how should we live now. Peter gives us the answer. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. (2 Peter 3:11-12)

                We can complain about the heat. We can worry and fret over climate change.  Or we can pay attention and listen to what creation is trying to tell us. It is time to wake up and get right with God.  We have no time table to tell us how much time we have left, but we all know that our time is short. As the Bible says, today is the day of salvation. There is no time to lose.

Ephesians 4:1-2

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

BECOMING VICTIMS OF A VICTIM MENTALITY

Romans 8:37

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

                This past week I was introduced to a podcast by Michael Ramsden, the new president of Ravi Zacharias International Ministry, on the subject of having a victim mentality. He made a compelling case that we have become a victim-based society. To claim that you are a victim automatically places you in the right and in the position of power. Anyone who disagrees with you is being hateful and becomes your enemy. Taking the position of victim excuses you from any responsibility for your actions and places blame on others. It is a very tempting and enticing position to take. We can see this victim mentality being played out daily in our country today.

                There is a big difference between being a victim of some injustice and living as a victim. There are many people who have been genuine victims and yet have chosen to become overcomers. There are just as many who choose to remain victims and even enhance their position. The difference is the approach that a person takes.

                There are many Christians today in America who have embraced a victim mentality. They believe that the Church is being unjustly persecuted and that they are being abused. They quickly cry foul and demand that the society go back to the way things were when Christianity was more than just tolerated.  Yet if we look at the broader picture, at a world where the Church is facing real, open, and often deadly persecution, what we see for the most part are overcomers, not victims. Believers around the world are finding their strength in Christ and not in playing the victim card.

                The Apostle Paul is a prime example of an overcomer. In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul chronicles the abuses that he suffered, yet he refused to play the role of a victim. Instead, he chose to trust in the Lord and persevere for God’s glory. He summarized his attitude in 2 Corinthians 4.

2 Corinthians 4:7-12

    But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

    Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

                Jesus warned us that if we followed Him, we would be at odds with the world. We should not be surprised when we face opposition from those who do not follow Jesus. Our hope and our security are in Christ and not in any world system. We want justice for all. We need to work to counter injustice in all of its forms. But we have been called to be overcomers, not victims.

Romans 8:31-39

    What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

    "For your sake we face death all day long;

        we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

                The victim mentality is enticing, but in reality, it corrodes our soul. It fills us with bitterness and anger. The better path is to embrace the reality that, no matter what we face in life, we are victors through Christ. In our fallen world there will always be injustice, but we also don’t have to be consumed by it. Instead, we can stand with Paul and millions of others who have chosen to be more than conquerors through Christ Jesus.

1 Corinthians 15:58

Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.