Day 216 - Tools

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.

**********

"Victim thinking can be a very practical tool when one is constantly being victimized. But when times change and the abuse is gone, if we stay stuck in victim thinking the results of that thinking will spread to take over more and more of our lives to a point where it is totally destructive to ourselves and to those around us."

As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 126.

Have you ever noticed how some of the most unhealthy things can actually be a valuable tool at times in our lives. I recently heard that medical scientists were using the HIV virus to deliver life changing cures to the very DNA of patients afflicted with a certain ailment. It was found that this horrible virus was actually extremely adept at attacking the exact part of the DNA needed to make a cure for this particular condition possible. By using the HIV virus, the patient is cured of one disease but is infected with another. The patient will now have to be treated for HIV for the remainder of their lives. Interesting thing is that this tradeoff is a no brainer. The impact of the original disease was so much more devastating than that of a manageable affliction like HIV.

What was once called God's plight on the homosexual community (HIV/AIDS) is now being used to save lives. God is so powerful and does things far outside our realm of understanding at times. Even the most horrific of evil can be a tool for good when in the hands of a loving God.

So it is with victim thinking. There are times in our lives when victim thinking can actually be a tool against some of the horrors life can toss at us. The self-focused aspect of victim thinking might make it possible for the most abused among us to be able to survive for one moment longer. The demanding ways of the victim thinker might bring to light some truths that need to be faced by those around them. Victim thinking, like HIV, isn't something to be arbitrarily messed with, but I have found that it can be a tool to bring about good in ways we might overlook if we aren't careful.

It is when times take a turn for the better that victim thinking can really be more of a hindrance than it can be a tool for change. As the circumstances that brought about the horrors that made victim thinking a useful tool change, the victim thinking tendencies that served the victim so well in the bad times might not be serving them as completely in the good. It is when we get stuck in victim thinking that the very tools of this process that carried us through bad times might make our good times something less than what they could be in our lives.

Victim thinking is really like any disease. When the HIV virus worms its way into our DNA, it changes our bodily systems. So it is with victim thinking. Staying in places that victim thinking can take us makes it possible for the very traits that once saved us turn the tables in ways that can work to destroy us. What was once a tool for good becomes a weapon for destruction when victim thinking is allowed to stay in the life of a victim who is facing different times in their lives.

That's why identity is so important of a concept for those of us trying to keep victim thinking at bay. Our identity is susceptible to outside forces worming their way into the very building blocks of who we are. Once in, those forces work to change how our identity might be used to carry us toward being a productive part of the world around us. Recognizing the symptoms of victim thinking is so important if we are to fight off the identity crushing effects that threaten the very fabric of our society today.

What are some of the symptoms of victim thinking? Here's a short list. Easily offended, bitterness, a demanding spirit, critical self talk, hopeless feelings about the future, feelings of worthiness, lacking in purpose, feeling constant rejection, preoccupation with coping mechanisms, and self-centered approach to life. These are but a few of the signs victim thinking might be a part of your life.

I don't know about you, but each and everyone of those symptoms ring somewhat true in my life, even today. That's the point! Everyone of us has been infected with victim thinking tendencies - and for good reason. This world can be a challenging place in which to live. That fact requires us to take steps for self preservation in ways that allow victim thinking to be a beneficial part of our lives at times.

You aren't stuck in victim thinking if any or all of the tendencies listed above are present in your life. You are, however, playing with victim thinking if you allow these tendencies to be what controls how you view your life. It is OK for me to recognize that I feel worthless. It is when I let the feeling of worthiness disqualify or disable me from being a part of what God has for my life that I allow victim thinking to take control in my in potentially destructive ways. See the difference there? 

Today's Bible reading is a prophecy regarding end times. It speaks of what some believe to be the rapture. I think this verse speaks directly to what we are talking about here with regards to letting victim thinking rule in our lives. The Bible says...

But let me tell you something wonderful, a mystery I’ll probably never fully understand. We’re not all going to die—but we are all going to be changed. You hear a blast to end all blasts from a trumpet, and in the time that you look up and blink your eyes—it’s over. On signal from that trumpet from heaven, the dead will be up and out of their graves, beyond the reach of death, never to die again. At the same moment and in the same way, we’ll all be changed. 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 (MSG)

Those last four words are such a powerful promise. It says, "we'll all be changed." When the clock on God's scoreboard finally reaches zero, each and everyone of us will be changed. The change we will make will be beyond anything we can really comprehend here on earth. That's the mystery Paul says he will never fully understand. That change will make any ability for us to even consider victim thinking something that will be gone. Revelations says that we will have no more pain when that time comes. That all tears will be gone when we are called home by that trumpet blast. Without the pain that causes tears, victimizing events that make victim thinking a possibility will be gone forever more.

Until that time, we have to be ever on the lookout for the symptoms of victim thinking. None of us are immune to the ravages this illness from the pit of hell can be brought into the victor's life. All we can do is recognize when we are moving in the direction of victim thinking and call out to God for help in changing direction as quickly as possible.

If you find that your day takes you to places where you are easily offended, bitter, posses a demanding spirit, partake in critical self talk, have hopeless feelings about the future, entertain feelings of worthiness, find you are lacking in purpose, believe you are feeling constant rejection, give in to a preoccupation with coping mechanisms or are applying a self-centered approach to life, maybe your victor status needs some bolstering. Take time to spend time with God. Let Him speak into you the hope that comes with who you are. As God's Child you have hope. Let the power of your God given identity be what it takes to slam the door on victim thinking in your life today.