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"So victims can’t be truly generous because they don’t see that they have been given much."
As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 132.
Take a look at an ominous Bible verse with me now.
"From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." Luke 12:48 (NIV)
When it comes to generosity, it is so easy to use this verse as an excuse not to give rather than a motivation to give. What do I mean by that? I said in the quote earlier that victims aren't able to be truly generous because they feel that they haven't been given all that much. Compared to others in the world around them, the things they have might not measure up in a way that stimulates them to give. When we think we haven't been given all that much by comparing our holdings to the holdings of those around us it gets awfully easy to miss what God is saying in our Bible reading today.
You see, the victim thinker sees their life as lacking. They prove their lack by pointing out all those around them that are less qualified, less diligent and less evolved who have so much more than them. Surely God is talking about those folks that have been given so much more than me when it comes to His expectations. This is the rationale of the victim thinker when it comes to being able to be truly generous in light of their view that their lives are missing so much of what others around them have.
I happen to believe that God is talking about us all in our Bible reading today. The person that has all the power, possessions and prominence in the world is expected just as fully to respond to what they have been given as the person that has nothing when it comes to power, possession and prominence. I happen to believe this because I feel that what God is talking about here is more focused on life than on stuff. The victor as well as the victim thinker has exactly the same things God is concerned about when it comes to generosity. It is the fact that we have breath in our lungs that puts us in a position where we will be held accountable with what we did with that breath of life that we all have.
I believe our reading makes that clear when it says in the first part - "everyone who has been given much..." If we are alive we have been given much. The quicker we get that into our heads the quicker we can get out of the victim thinking tendencies that happens when comparison is concerned. Our lives are a gift from God and we need to start treating them as such. What we do with that gift of life is what will be judged when it comes to God saying, "much will be demanded..."
Today's reading does go on to talk about those who have been entrusted with much more. I believe this is talking more about the material blessings that we have. We all start off on the same footing with an amazing blessing of life. Some of us are then blessed with the burden of provision and prosperity. With provision and prosperity comes a responsibility to be productive with this extra blessing God has granted in ways that build His Kingdom.
Bottom line is that we are expected to show a return on what we have been given. All of us have been given live. What are we doing with that life to help the rest of the world see the power of walking with this God that loves us so? Those of us that have been blessed with resources now have a double expectation. Not only is the basic blessing of life to be something that pays back Heavenly dividends, our resources are expected to pay in to the Kingdom building process.
Now, I feel stressed - how about you? That stress comes with worry. What if I'm not doing enough with my life or my resources to please this God? What if I fail in His eyes to do all I think I'm suppose to do? Those questions come from a basic misunderstanding of the love of God that drives me into victim thinking time and time again. Let me unpack that thought for a second.
You see I view God's love as a performance based thing. If I perform well, He will love me more. If I perform less, then His love will be less in my life. It is easy to read verses like today's in that light. What I'm trying to live out in my life and am communicating in these presentations is a totally different view than what I have been taught in my life. God's love isn't dependent on me at all. There is nothing I can do to gain more of His love and nothing I can do to loose that love as well. His love for me is the same - it is overwhelming and complete. That fact helps make the scary aspects of our Bible reading today diminish in ways that I hope you feel in your life as well.
Fact is that we have been blessed. It is also a fact that God wants us to use those blessings to bless others in ways that make His love something others will be drawn to. God also knows we are fallible. We will be swayed to allow victim thinking to enter our lives in ways that will make His expectations something we just can't tolerate in our lives from time to time. That's why Jesus is such an important concept for the victor to have in their lives. Without Jesus, we are doomed to judgement based on our own performance. With Jesus, we are judged based on the perfect performance of God's own son. We just can't go wrong when we trust the finished work of Jesus and then do the best we can at living up to the impossible standard of perfection set by God's perfect son.
From the victim to victor standpoint, this Bible verse seems to be saying that our victor status requires us to perform to a standard that is often hard to understand. What I'm learning is that God has such a different plan than to simply rely on us to get done all He needs to get done to build His Kingdom here on earth. He knows we will fail. That failure is deserving nothing short of death itself. Christ changed that direction in a powerful and stress relieving way. Our victor status is guaranteed whether we succeed at living up to the lofty expectations of this God or not. We are a victor because our ability to meet God's expectations is viewed through the lens of Jesus' death on the cross. Relying on anything other than that view of performance is a one way ticket to victim thinking in the life of a victor.
Take time today to realize that you are blessed. Then consider how you can bless others with the fact that your blessing came from God. Because of you identity as God's Child, your efforts will be seen as the very best through the light of Jesus Christ in your life. Be all the victor you can be as you let blessing guide you through all you have, all you will gain and all you will give in all the circumstances that you will face today.
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