Thoughts
that have come from various quotes taken from the book, "Victor - Breaking
Free From a Victim Based Society" by John H. Hovis. Click here to link directly to
the audio file.
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"People tied to a structure that focuses on rules and regulations to relate to God are doomed to be placed in victimized positions. Why? Rules and regulations require standards. Anytime there are standards, people will see the need to make themselves keepers of the standards, and this creates a level of, dare I say, slavery."
As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 71.
Structure requires rules and regulations. Rules and regulations require standards in order to maintain that orderly structure. Standards require arbiters in order to ensure everyone is living up to those standards. Anytime we have one set of people overseeing and judging the actions of another set of people human nature enters the picture and the potential for victimizing events become a real possibility. This can be a troubling reality for any organization we are involved in but when this strategy for controlling the actions of people happens inside the church I believe it is particularly troubling.
It is when we see our very identity as being wrapped up in the maintenance and propagation of the structure that we can become victimizers to those we have judged to have fallen short at keeping the standards for being part of that organization. Connecting our identities to anything, particularly an organization, can make us negatively react to situations that comes against that organization in ways that can hurt those we are charged with to help be all they can be in that organization. See why this is such a damaging prospect when maintaining the organization is done in the name of God through religion?
There is nothing wrong with wanting an organization to be the best it can be. There is also nothing wrong with having rules and regulations to help that organization function at its highest level. Finally, there is nothing wrong with taking responsibility to hold accountable all of us that are part of that organization. It is when we get our identities connected with anything but what God wants for us when we start to move in directions that creates victim thinking.
Take a look at today's Bible reading and consider what it says about structure, rules, supervision and success.
"But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today." Deuteronomy 8:18 (NIV)
It isn't the structure alone that makes it possible to have success. It isn't the rules and regulations that make the organization successful. It isn't even how well you supervise and motivate the people in your organization to keep the rules and regulations that make it successful. Our reading today says it is the Lord who :gives" what is necessary to produce the trappings of success.
The bondage to the organization, its rules and its standards is what creates the opportunity for us to live like slaves. It is when we tie our identities to the success of the organization that we can fall into victim thinking and become victimizers ourselves. When this is done inside the church, I believe God becomes troubled due to the fact that this is the very organization created to help set us free.
Take time to think about all the organizations you are part of today. Your work, your church, your family, heck, even your golf group are all organizations that you are a part of. Now think about how your identity is tied to those organizations and work to unentangle who you are from whether you view those organizations as successful or not. Choosing to let your identity be shaped by anything other than what God has done to make you a victor is a sure way of being in bondage and putting those in your organization in a position to choose bondage as well.
God wants freedom for you and all those you will come into contact with today. Let freedom be what sets your organizations apart from the rest of the world. God's covenant with you is that He has made you His child and that is the wellspring of all the success you will ever need to be the victor He sees you to be.
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"People tied to a structure that focuses on rules and regulations to relate to God are doomed to be placed in victimized positions. Why? Rules and regulations require standards. Anytime there are standards, people will see the need to make themselves keepers of the standards, and this creates a level of, dare I say, slavery."
As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 71.
Structure requires rules and regulations. Rules and regulations require standards in order to maintain that orderly structure. Standards require arbiters in order to ensure everyone is living up to those standards. Anytime we have one set of people overseeing and judging the actions of another set of people human nature enters the picture and the potential for victimizing events become a real possibility. This can be a troubling reality for any organization we are involved in but when this strategy for controlling the actions of people happens inside the church I believe it is particularly troubling.
It is when we see our very identity as being wrapped up in the maintenance and propagation of the structure that we can become victimizers to those we have judged to have fallen short at keeping the standards for being part of that organization. Connecting our identities to anything, particularly an organization, can make us negatively react to situations that comes against that organization in ways that can hurt those we are charged with to help be all they can be in that organization. See why this is such a damaging prospect when maintaining the organization is done in the name of God through religion?
There is nothing wrong with wanting an organization to be the best it can be. There is also nothing wrong with having rules and regulations to help that organization function at its highest level. Finally, there is nothing wrong with taking responsibility to hold accountable all of us that are part of that organization. It is when we get our identities connected with anything but what God wants for us when we start to move in directions that creates victim thinking.
Take a look at today's Bible reading and consider what it says about structure, rules, supervision and success.
"But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today." Deuteronomy 8:18 (NIV)
It isn't the structure alone that makes it possible to have success. It isn't the rules and regulations that make the organization successful. It isn't even how well you supervise and motivate the people in your organization to keep the rules and regulations that make it successful. Our reading today says it is the Lord who :gives" what is necessary to produce the trappings of success.
The bondage to the organization, its rules and its standards is what creates the opportunity for us to live like slaves. It is when we tie our identities to the success of the organization that we can fall into victim thinking and become victimizers ourselves. When this is done inside the church, I believe God becomes troubled due to the fact that this is the very organization created to help set us free.
Take time to think about all the organizations you are part of today. Your work, your church, your family, heck, even your golf group are all organizations that you are a part of. Now think about how your identity is tied to those organizations and work to unentangle who you are from whether you view those organizations as successful or not. Choosing to let your identity be shaped by anything other than what God has done to make you a victor is a sure way of being in bondage and putting those in your organization in a position to choose bondage as well.
God wants freedom for you and all those you will come into contact with today. Let freedom be what sets your organizations apart from the rest of the world. God's covenant with you is that He has made you His child and that is the wellspring of all the success you will ever need to be the victor He sees you to be.
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