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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"Victim thinking takes things and twists them into pretzels of logic that make perfect sense at the time to the victim thinker."
As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 125.
There was an old commercial on the radio a few years ago that had a tag line that went something like this, "Conventional wisdom isn't!"
I loved the thought behind this statement. I think it was pure genius that they ended this short sentence with the word isn't. Conventional wisdom simply isn't - It isn't conventional. It isn't really wisdom when you come think about it. Conventional wisdom is just what we make it to be. That's the way I have found myself living when victim thinking has taken hold in ways that made it so easy to twist logic into pretzels of thought that suited my warped way of processing all that goes on in my life.
Logic, like conventional wisdom truly only works in the eyes of the beholder. In other words, conventional wisdom and logic makes perfect sense to the one who is creating that wisdom or logic in their own life. What may seem completely out of control, lacking in wisdom and absolutely illogical might be the epitome of control, wisdom and logic to the person applying that line of thinking.
Perspective is such a tremendous ally for those trying to live out their life as a victor. It is when we can see things from a different perspective that a powerful trait comes into play in the lives of those of us called Children of God. Acceptance is a characteristic that is highly touted but rarely applied in our Victim Based Society.
Everyone wants to be accepted but few are willing to accept. Just look at the multitude of dividing lines in our world today. One group is demanding acceptance from another but is so unwilling to accept any position or opinion that may be viewed as different than their own. The byproduct of all this lack of acceptance is offense and ultimately bitterness. It is when we get sucked up in the vortex of offense and bitterness that acceptance loses the power God wants it to have in our lives.
Acceptance isn't about ignoring the truth. Truth is truth as far as I'm concerned. Unfortunately this fact has been diminished by a socialistic inability to accept each other in our own dysfunctions. Truth has been sacrificed on the alter of tolerance in ways that make truth something hard to find let alone understand and apply in our lives.
That's why I have found it so important to find something extra-ordinary when it comes to the foundations of my life. Truth can only be seen when we look outside of our circumstances to things that might not be so easy to explain for the basis of our purpose and identity here on this earth. When we let the things of this world be what drives us acceptance, tolerance, truth and a whole litany of other relational characteristics go out the window. I believe this is the reason our society is so caught up in victim thinking these days. Our focus has been trained on the horizontal when our gaze needs to be shifted vertically.
The author of Psalm 121 got it right. Check out today's reading with me now.
I look up to the mountains;
does my strength come from mountains?
No, my strength comes from God,
who made heaven, and earth, and mountains. Psalm 121:1-2 (MSG)
Whoever the psalmist was writing about was going in the right direction. They were in the process of taking their eyes off themselves, off the path they were on and began looking to the high places for their help to arrive. From a military standpoint, the high ground is typically the best place to be. From that place on high you can rain down on your enemy and better protect your position. It is an unenviable place for a warrior to be when they are below their enemy.
The psalmist takes it a bit further. Relying on your rescue team to have the high ground is a good strategy but it falls short of being the best. Our help comes from higher than the high ground of mountains that surround the valleys we find ourselves in. Our help comes from the one who made the mountains in the first place. The very God that created all the universe calls us His Child. With friends like that what enemy do we have that we should fear?
That's the perspective I think I need to live this life as a victor. Maybe this too is twisted logic. All I can say to that point is that it works for me and if you have a hard time accepting that fact for yourself, please allow yourself to accept me. Our relationship depends on the power of acceptance even when our view of truth might not line up as perfectly as we would like it to.
I'm not asking you to change your truth model. I'm simply asking that you and I be as honest as we can with how our truth model is working in our lives. Relying on models of truth that don't shift our gaze high enough will ultimately fall short as far as I have seen in my life. I hope I never use this fact as ammunition for my own need to try and change people to see things my way. When change is the reason for relationship all we do is make victims out of those we could be having meaningful connection with in this world.
What perspective are you working from today? What logic is working in your life? Is there a truth that you are leaning on that you hope makes your life have the type of meaning that makes it all worth living? As a victor we all need to have something permanent, something bigger than ourselves to use as our touchstone when it comes to who we are and the purpose we have in this life. Look up today and let your status as a victor be all it needs to be so that order in your life can be found and shared with all you come into contact with this amazing day.
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