Everyone’s Guilty?

 

It’s Narcissist Friday!  

 

We have been taught to feel guilty. We have been told that we are bad people and we do bad things. We accept guilt and shame as we do old friends. They are familiar and comfortable to us. This is one of the reasons I put out this blog, to show that so much of the condemnation Christians carry around does not come from the heart of God.

For narcissists and legalists, guilt and shame are effective tools to keep others quiet and in line. The condemnation we bring with us into the relationship or the church gives them the opening they need to begin to manipulate us. They build on the foundation we already have and further weaken us by their insinuations and accusations. The best follower is a quiet one, one who won’t challenge the teacher. Guilt, intimidation, uncertainty—these are all tools in the narcissist’s toolbox.

So we had some fun last week (wonderful comments, btw!) and along comes a reminder that we are all guilty of these things, that we are not better than others. Now, please understand, I am not scolding or judging whoever made the comments. I just want to point out why that happens. And I want to show why it is an error.

Let’s start by establishing the fact that we simply do not do what some people do. When you hear about a murder or a rape, do you stop to remind yourself that you are a sinner also? Probably not. You want the person to be caught and brought to justice. You have no hesitation in thinking that the perpetrator is accountable—and that he is different from you. You could be with children all day and not molest any of them. You could look at a pretty girl in a secluded place and not attempt to rape her. You could probably be in charge of a friend’s finances and not steal anything. Many of you have told your stories here and I know that you have lived in relationship with some of the most difficult people in the world—and you have not committed murder. The truth is that there is a difference between you and many others.

Now, just what is that difference? You see, most of us were taught in church that all sin is the same and that any of us could do anything. I agree with that to a point. I believe any of us could commit any sin—but we don’t. I believe all sin is the same when the need for a Savior is proclaimed—but not all sin is the same in the practice of daily life. Some sin hurts others more seriously than other sin. Some is more cruel, more insidious, and, perhaps, more evil. Yes, there is sin on all our accounts and we all need the Savior’s love, but there are distinctions that are real and important. Otherwise, we can’t ever judge any cruel act.

When Jesus said that lust was the same as adultery and depersonalization was the same as murder, He meant that guilt was guilt in the eyes of God, and all sin creates a need for forgiveness and salvation. He was chastising the self-righteous leaders for judging some people as less valuable in the eyes of God. The sins of the leaders, while acceptable within the community perhaps, were still not acceptable to God. Jesus is not saying that the person who calls his brother a fool should be treated like a murderer. He is simply saying that we all sin.

We all agree that there are things on the list from last week that could apply to our behavior and attitudes at times. There is no question that I can be argumentative and critical and belligerent sometimes (I will spare you the rest of me that’s on that list). But that doesn’t make me a narcissist. When we list adjectives like that, we are just describing characteristics. For example, I could say that an apple is red, round, hard, sweet, edible, and falls from a tree. That doesn’t mean that every red thing is an apple. Nor does it mean that every hard thing that falls from a tree is an apple. These are just a list of an apple’s attributes. If all of them are true, I will begin to think of an apple, of course. And if many or all of the things on our lists from last week are true of a certain person, I will begin to wonder if that person is a narcissist.

There is another notable difference between most of us and the narcissist. When I do these things and I realize that I have done them, I experience regret. Not just regret for getting caught, but genuine regret for hurting someone and for being less than I could be. I often remember those things long after I did them because I wish I had never done them. Now, I believe there is no guilt on my account with God for those things because of what Jesus did for me and I have, when appropriate, apologized to the person, but I still remember and feel bad. I know I am not guilty, but I still beat myself with those things. Almost everyone reading this will understand… except for the narcissist.

You see, the narcissist only regrets getting caught or burning a useful bridge, he/she does not regret saying what was said. If he called you a name that cut deep, he has probably forgotten it, or he did it purposely to manipulate you in some way. For example, narcissists attack when they feel threatened. That’s when they use your secrets against you. Do they regret doing it? Of course not, no more than they would regret picking up a stick to chase away a threatening dog. You are not a person and your secrets are tools to be used.

But you don’t think that way and it is just fine for you to acknowledge that. You are different from the narcissist. Many have noted the existence of a kind of narcissistic spectrum. This concept may or may not be helpful. If we say that anyone on the spectrum is a narcissist, then it isn’t helpful. If we say that there is a point at which this behavior defines a person, that the person consistently acts in these negative ways, and is therefore a narcissist; then the spectrum is being used correctly. Not all vain people are narcissists, but vain people who also use others and have no empathy and regularly say and do inappropriate things might be.

My point is that the guilt we bring into these relationships is a weapon they will use against us. The narcissist and the legalist will heap more guilt on you and use that guilt to beat you into submission. The moment you try to defend yourself, they will pounce and accuse you of the same thing. They will gaslight you into thinking that it is really all your problem as they project their own behavior on you. As long as you let them present the axioms, set the agenda, provide the criteria—you will lose.

So, don’t bring the guilt for them to use. No, you are not perfect. No one is. Yes, you sometimes do wrong things. We all do. But you are not like the narcissist. And listen: you can disagree. When the narcissist begins to say that you are the one with the problem and that you do the same thing you are accusing him/her of doing, you can stop and say no.

“No, I am not like you.” If you can’t say it, at least let yourself think it.

Guilt and Shame

It’s Narcissist Friday!  

One of the more subtle and unexplored connections between narcissism and legalism is the use of guilt and shame as motivation and control tools. So prevalent are these tools in the message of both legalism and narcissism that the connection can hardly be ignored. From the pulpit and the bedroom, from the family home to the service organization, guilt and shame are readily available and liberally applied.

Guilt and shame are usually found together, especially among Christians. The church has done a poor job of helping believers to release guilt, in spite of a message that proclaims the forgiveness of sins. Instead, the church has used guilt in a mixed message that never quite allows believers to feel forgiven.

The feeling associated with guilt, especially in the church, is shame. Shame moves church members to conformity and obedience; or, at least, compliance. Those who are intimidated by shame find it much more difficult to stand up against injustice, particularly to themselves.

Over the years I have suggested that guilt is a very inefficient motivator. It drains the accused of energy, energy that could benefit the one doing the accusing. In other words, using guilt and shame to motivate your kids to clean their rooms may work, but it costs them in both enthusiasm and creativity. Workers shamed into cooperation are still unwilling and without passion for the work. Employers and leaders who use guilt and shame will receive a lower quality of performance.

However, if you see the people in your care as somehow less than equal and less than valuable, you may be content with mediocre work and reluctant cooperation. If your members or workers are not real people in your mind and their greatest contributions are unworthy in your estimation, you may not care whether they perform with enthusiasm.

Enter the narcissist.

The narcissist has serious difficulty in valuing others or even in seeing others as real. Therefore the contributions of others have no real value to him. Slaves, servants, peons, sycophants, and moochers surround him. He expects them to serve him, but he also expects them to serve him poorly. So he uses whatever motivation will work.

I suspect that one reason a narcissist will attach to a believer is because the believer is often easier to manipulate with guilt and shame. Believers are usually pre-conditioned to accept this type of motivation. We have learned throughout our lives that most things are our fault. We have been told for years that we are inadequate and unworthy. So we accept the narcissist’s judgment as both true and normal.

But there’s more.

Guilt and shame may be very familiar to the narcissist. If we accept the typical version of a narcissist’s childhood, where parents are absent or conflicted and love is withheld except when it serves the parent, then guilt and shame are the primary motivations for the narcissist to hide and project an image. Rejection was his/her fault. He/she was to blame for the difficult childhood. If he/she had been a more worthy son/daughter the parent might have loved more.

The narcissist knows the power of guilt and shame. So it shouldn’t surprise us when narcissists seek victims who are already conditioned to that motivation. Nor should it surprise us when the compromised legalist uses it from the pulpit to control his parishioners or move them to conformity. When the narcissist tells his wife that their marriage problems are her fault, he is probably projecting the guilt and shame he has felt all his life and using it as a primary tool to control. When the legalist preacher condemns his people for the clothes they wear or the television they watch, he may well be projecting the guilt and shame he feels for the compromises of his own life.

So the answer to this control is to know the truth of God’s love and acceptance. Shame makes us feel less as persons. We relinquish our rights and our value when we live in shame. We accept the abuse of others and add to it ourselves, because we own the guilt. But that is not the message God has for us.

There is no condemnation for those who are in Jesus, according to the Scriptures. No more guilt or shame, because Jesus came to take that away from us. Yes, our actions may cause pain and our attitudes may be wrong, but that does not lessen our value to Him. We should be quick to confess injury to others and seek reconciliation, but from a position that is both secure and strong. We are loved by the greatest Judge of all and that will never change.

In other words, believers are healthy when they accept the acceptance God has toward them. We are strong when we acknowledge that nothing can remove us from His protection. We are confident when we understand that guilt and shame have been completely overcome in us by the One who sacrificed Himself for us.

Neither the narcissist nor the legalist preacher has the right to pronounce guilt on us. They have no power over us to place us under shame. We are free to simply shrug off their condemnation and manipulation. Understanding that is health and peace . . . and victory.

I am Righteous!

Words of Grace  

 

Some businesses I frequent have awarded me a “preferred customer” status (no, not the donut shop).  One time I was at one of the businesses and an employee looked at my name and account and commented, “Oh, you’re a preferred customer!”  Apparently that meant something.  I was treated with a little more respect after that.  In fact, I got some special privileges because of it.  I didn’t do anything to earn that status, except to come regularly to the business, but I did enjoy the privileges.

Imagine that God has an account with your name on it.  He looks you up and sees one word, “Righteous!”  No sins.  No special warnings.  No caveats.  Just one word.

Paul told the Romans that those who trust in the Lord for salvation are counted righteous.  Notice the words, “accounted” and “imputes” in this passage:

But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,  just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works  Romans 4:5-6

Those words refer to a determination, like that on an account.  God gives righteousness to those who trust in Jesus.  That’s what He says.  On your account, it says you are righteous.

Never mind what you feel like.  Never mind what the preacher says in his sermon.  Never mind what your accusing friend says.  According to God you are righteous.  On the basis of your faith in Jesus, you are righteous.

Now, the theologian explains that when you and I accepted Christ as our only hope for salvation, Jesus became our Life.  We died to sin and to this world, and we rose again with His life.  Since He is our life, He is also our righteousness.  Technically, He is righteous in us and we are righteous in Him.  When we stand before the righteous Judge, we will be pronounced righteous because of Jesus.

Absence of sin is not the issue.  Perfect behavior is not the issue.  Sufficient service is not the issue.  None of these will make us righteous.  Jesus is the issue.  He makes us righteous.  Because of Him, we are “preferred customers.”

 

I am righteous.

Jesus makes me righteous.

No one can take my righteousness away.

God sees me as righteous.

I am righteous.

I am Clean

Words of Grace  

 

One of the things God has not given us is the ability to forget the things we really want to forget.  There are good reasons for that, I suppose, but most of us have done some things we would love to push out of our thinking forever.  It certainly doesn’t help when other people remind us or when the evil one whispers a reminder in our ears.  But we often don’t need them.  We just remember.  And, when we remember, it hurts.

But does God want us to live every day in the shame of what we have done?  Some preachers seem to think so.  They keep Christians in control and motivate them to obedience by reminding them of what they were before they came to Christ.  Forgiveness means little if our sins are always lifted up to us by others or by ourselves.

No, God does not want us to live in shame.  He says that there is “no condemnation” for those of us who belong to Jesus.  He says that all our sins have been washed away by the blood of Christ.  He says we are clean.

One of my favorite passages is from 1 Corinthians 6, where Paul is telling the readers that they are no longer what they were.  He does not deny what they were and what they did, but he explains that they are different now—new creations, as the Lord said.

And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:11

“Such were some of you.”  This is not denial.  This is reality . . . but it is the whole reality.  We are not what we were because we have been washed.  We are now clean because of Jesus.  He washed all our sins away.  Today we are no longer what we were.

“But what about the sins I have done since becoming a Christian?”  Those sins are washed away by the blood as well.  In fact, those sins didn’t stick to us in the first place.  Some people don’t like this teaching.  They think our former sins are gone but not our current sins.  If that’s true, however, then Jesus has to be crucified again for us or some other way of salvation has to be determined.  If sin still separates us from God and remains on our account after we have come to Jesus, then the cross of Christ was not enough.

But the cross was enough.  The love of God is sufficient to cover all our sins: past, present and future.  We are no longer what we were and we will never again be what we were—because we have been washed and made clean.

 

I am clean.

Jesus has cleansed me.

The old has been washed away.

I am not what I was.

I am clean.

Guilt

Grace 101

Ever feel guilty for doing something and then realize that you are already forgiven?  And then you feel guilty for not remembering that truth before?  We are creatures of guilt.  We are so familiar with guilt that we don’t recognize it as it creeps into our hearts and destroys our days.  It feels so right because it fit so well in our lives for so long.

But guilt and shame can distract you from the joy of grace.  They come when we forget that we are no longer under law, but they also come when we chastise ourselves under grace.  Many of us were taught to think of ourselves as stupid or weak or foolish.  Remembering the message of grace in a world (or in a church) that does not support that message can be hard work.

Some people who have had limbs amputated struggle with what is called, “phantom pain.”  Phantom pain is more than a memory that can simply be blocked out with effort.  Phantom pain, pain in a hand that is no longer there, for example, can be very real.  Something like 80% of amputees report some kind of phantom pain.  It hurts.  No one knows exactly what is happening, but almost all theories center on the continued functioning of nerves that used to extend to the absent limb.

Well, I don’t want to push the analogy too far, but you and I have nerves that are very used to experiencing shame and guilt.  In fact, most of us would worry about ourselves if we didn’t feel guilty for doing something wrong.  And we kind of want to have a reminder or a nudge when we do something wrong, don’t we?  But then, when we do feel guilty, we fall back into the self-condemnation and the oppression we experienced under the law.

So let me suggest a new tactic.  I think the nudge from the Holy Spirit is good.  There are things that we do that are hurtful to ourselves and others.  We don’t want to do them.  If we do them, we want to be nudged.  But we don’t have to feel shame and guilt.  That is something different.

If we could interpret the nudge from the Spirit as a blessing, as something good, then we could win.  Instead of the pain of shame, we could feel the attention of the Lord and the influence of His Spirit.  That’s not a bad thing at all.  In fact, we could go so far as to rejoice at our renewed awareness of His presence.

The next time the Holy Spirit nudges you with the mindfulness of your wrong action, just say, “Thanks!”  Believe that His only purpose is to help you and His only motive toward you is love.  There is no condemnation in His nudge, no shame, and you carry no guilt.  But He simply is telling you that this is not going to be profitable and He loves you enough to make His presence known.

Now, I know that someone will say that people will just sin more then so they can feel good about their interaction with the Spirit.  Listen: that’s dumb.  No one who wants to walk with Jesus will sin more so that they get more attention from Him.  What will happen is that the distraction that comes with the earthly consequences of sin and the false guilt will end and their hearts will be even more at peace in their relationship with Him.

You see, we no longer need guilt to guide us.  We have love.  God’s love for us is active and involved.  He speaks to us and leads us.  That is a very good thing.

Fool Me Once

It’s Narcissist Friday!

You know the old saying, “Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me.”  In general, it means that we should learn from our mistakes.  The first time someone deceives us, we have the excuse of trusting and being unaware of their true nature; but, the second time that same person deceives us, we should know better.  Then it is our own fault.

Well, that’s what the saying means and it’s what a lot of people think.  When you entered into a relationship with the narcissist, you really didn’t know what kind of person he/she was.  You overlooked the strange focus on self-image, and the exaggerations, and the boasting, and the quick anger, and the lies, and the unkind words, and the thoughtless disregard for your feelings, and the distance between the narcissist and his family and your friends and your family, and so much more.  You overlooked all these things because there was something different about the relationship, something that made you feel like everything would get better very soon.  If you could just find the right words to say, the right things to do, or something.

But, of course, you never found those things.  Nothing seemed to help except more draining of your energy.  So you finally understood that you had been deceived.  It wasn’t love and it wasn’t even compassion.  It was something else, something strange.  You were manipulated, used, and abused—all so the narcissist could get some kind of “supply.”  Your heart, your energy, provided the drug the narcissist apparently needed.

And you feel ashamed.  You ignored so many warnings.  You left so much behind.  You think you should have known better.

Listen carefully—stop it!  Stop beating yourself.  This is what narcissists do so often.  What I have described above is almost a normal narcissistic relationship.  They use people.  And they are very, very good at deception.  They know the right words and the right timing.  They can appear as saviors or victims or teachers with almost equal ease.  They tap into your core desires and needs.  You were simply deceived.

So stop putting yourself down.  There is no shame in being used by the narcissist.

But now what?  Do you leave?  After you have left, do you go back?  If your emotions are tied in knots or twisting uncontrollably, please understand that this is part of getting out of the relationship (and part of deciding to stay in).  And if you fall into the deception again, it will be for the same reasons.  Even the second time you are not to blame.  Yes, you should learn, but these narcissists are (as I said) very good at what they do.  Just when you think you are rid of them, they can come back to twist your heart some more.

The point of all this is that it might seem right to blame yourself and feel ashamed of your vulnerability, but it isn’t right.  Nor is it helpful.  The best thing you can do is admit the truth about the deceiver and your openness to his/her maneuverings.  Then live in that truth.  Find the way to health.  Get a good counselor.  Set up boundaries.  All the things we have talked about so often.  Be good to yourself.

People who live in shame live in bondage.  People who live in truth are free.

Freedom

Grace 101

 

“It was for freedom that Christ has set us free.”  Galatians 5:1 NASB

This is the time of year our nation celebrates freedom.  It’s a big word and we use it to mean different things.  Chances are that it means something different to a fourteen year-old than it does to her parents.  It means something different to an employee than to an employer.  It may even mean something different in one country than in another.  But what does it mean in the context of grace?

Freedom is a hinge concept.  Legalists will tell us that freedom is far less than we think.  Liberals will tell us that it is far more than we think.  Grace people often get into trouble when we try to explain what it means.  Some have said that it means we are free to do whatever we want.  Others say that we are free to do what is right.  All of this is confusing and misses the point.

Freedom in Christ means deliverance from bondage.  We were slaves of sin, under condemnation and shame, bound to evil in our hearts.  We belonged to evil.  It was our master and the realm in which we lived.  When Jesus came to us, He reached into that evil and pulled us out.  He paid the price, did the work, lived the life, that was needed—and He set us free.

Sin owned us, but Jesus set us free from sin.  The law held us in condemnation, but Jesus set us free from the law.  Failure defined us, but Jesus delivered us from our failure.  This is what our freedom is about.

You see, you and I could always do what we wanted.  Nothing stopped us from sinning.  When we wanted to disobey our Lord, we found ways.  We have always lived in that “freedom.”  So when someone says, “Well, you aren’t just free to do whatever you want!”  You answer, “I always have been free to do what I want and so have you.”  The point is not that we can do things now that we couldn’t do before.  The point is that we are no longer slaves to sin and citizens of evil.

The moment you received salvation in Jesus, that moment you were set free from evil and all the strings it had attached to your life.  In that amazing gift box, Jesus has given you freedom.  You are no longer under condemnation, no longer in shame, no longer bound to sin.  You are free to make changes in your life and He will guide you and enable you.  You are free to live without fear of rejection, secure in His love.  You are free to love others without expectation.

The ways of the world, the flesh, and the devil are no longer your ways by definition.  You are free.  You are free from your past, from the ways and habits of your family, and from the judgments of others.  You are free from the old life, the old you.

And your freedom in Jesus is not just defined by what you are free from, but also by what you are free to.  You are free to experience joy and creativity and rest.  You are free to feel free.

Fireworks and parties and games and laughter are every bit as appropriate for the believer on any day as they are for our nation on the fourth of July.  We have been set free by the Lord who loves us.  That’s something to celebrate!

No Sin, No Shame

The other day I attended a seminar where the speaker talked about the value of shame.  He lamented the loss of shame in our culture as a way of guiding people to right behavior.  To be fair, there was a context to his statement, but I still didn’t like it.  It’s like spelling a word wrong for a long time; then, when you finally learn how to spell it correctly, you misspell it once in a while just to remind yourself.  I just don’t see any value in shame in the life of a believer.

I have believed for years that guilt and shame are similar in purpose to pain.  Pain is good, right?  You don’t want to be alerted to the fact that your hand is on the burner by the smell.  Pain tells you instantly that something is wrong.  It would be nice to be able to turn off that message when your brain gets the point, but pain continues as long as something is wrong.  If you do burn yourself, you may have pain until the healing is nearly complete and then have sensitivity after.

Sometimes the pain doesn’t go away when it should.  Phantom pain and chronic pain don’t necessarily signal that something is wrong.  Pain may be the result of something like crossed wiring in the brain.  The cause of the pain is gone, but the brain doesn’t understand that.

Guilt and shame point out to the lost person that something is wrong.  They are given by the Lord of love as a way of moving people to Him.  When we are in pain, it is hard to think of other things until that pain is removed.  When we feel shame, we find ourselves driven to healing.  When Jesus told the “heavily burdened” to come to Him, what burden do you think they were carrying?  They were carrying the shame of their inability to please God and their sins against Him.  We understand that.

But, when they came to Jesus, He took away their burden.  He told them that His burden was light.  In other words, they didn’t need to carry around their shame any longer.  They were forgiven.

When you came to Jesus and He washed away your sins, did He leave the shame?  Why would He do that?  No, the shame washed away as well.  No more sin, no more shame.  If the shame remains, it doesn’t come from the sin.  It comes from wrong thinking.  It comes from a lie that tells you that you are still responsible for the sins that have been washed away.

But, you say, what about the sins we do today?  Shouldn’t we feel shame because of them?  First, I have never seen shame bring a believer to victory, nor do I think it is possible.  Victory comes when we understand who we are in Christ, not when we continually focus on what we have done or are doing.  Truth brings victory.  When I see myself, who I really am, as free from that sin and no longer needing what I think it will provide, then I will have victory.

Also, I like to ask this question a lot: How much sin is on your account right now?  If you are a believer, the answer must be—none!  Jesus has washed it all away.  Even the sins of the present and the future.  Nothing is on your account, holding you back from full communion with the Lord who loves you.  And, remember: no sin, no shame.

Two more thoughts: I have written a couple of posts about 1 John 1:9 and whether we must confess our sins in order for them to be forgiven.  We do not.  I believe that is a statement of simple fact.  When you came to Christ, you confessed and He forgave you.  The need for continued confession seems to be very similar to the feedback loop in the brain that makes you feel pain when you shouldn’t.

Nothing of this minimizes the risk and consequence sin brings.  There is nothing good in sin for the believer and we should avoid doing the things God calls sin.  There are many earthly consequences to sin.  God did take care of the spiritual consequences, but you still hurt yourself and others through sin.

The only reason shame clings to you as a believer is because you don’t let it go.  Take it to Jesus.  Lay it at His feet.  Don’t pick it up again.  Then hear His voice of love and acceptance.

Back to the Shame?

I recently heard a sad story about a young lady (adult) who escaped a legalist home and tried to set up a life apart from the constant criticism and control.  She went through several difficulties, but eventually ended up returning home.  Back to the legalism, the judgment, the condemnation, the shame.  No doubt the return of the prodigal was cause for celebration, but almost certainly not the celebration of parents to have their beloved daughter home.  Instead, it was the celebration of the system, the affirmation that the daughter needed what the system gave and “did the right thing” by returning.  And I expect that the other system followers consider themselves to be generous and gracious by allowing the shamed one to return. 

Why would someone leave legalism because of the condemnation and then return to it?  This happens often.  People leave a legalistic church, then find their way back with their tails tucked between their legs in repentance.  Or they simply find another legalistic church to attend.  People leave behind a legalistic teacher but continue to read his books with a strange longing in their hearts.  What pulls them back?

Legalism messes with your mind.  It controls by manipulation of emotions and twisting of logic.  The primary tools used by almost all legalistic groups are:

• Criticism – the constant criticism of any alternative thought, whether it is from the world or from the individual.  Often the legalist system teaches more on what they are against than on what they believe.  To harbor thoughts that are contrary to the established teaching is considered both foolish and evil.  Those who try to leave find that little voice of condemnation goes with them.

 

• Comparison – Along with the constant criticism is the perpetual state of being compared with others.  Children grow up being compared with others who are “doing it the right way.”   Wives are provided with examples of how they should act.  Men are compared (unfavorably) with the teacher.  To “measure up” becomes the goal.  No one wants to be at the bottom of the pile.  Those who leave know that they will forever be the object of that comparison: “You don’t want to end up like so-and-so, do you?”  Returning holds the promise of being celebrated and of being held a little higher than those who didn’t return.

 

• Cut-off – Separation has long been a hallmark of legalism.  Because those outside the system, even close relatives, are seen as inferior or evil, there is little or no support structure outside.  The world is a cruel place for those without support and encouragement.  Things have been said and done, even in formerly close relationships, that have burned bridges.  It is difficult to go to someone for help, when unkind and judgmental thoughts and actions have been committed toward that person. 

 

• Cause and effect – “Bad things happen because of disobedience.”  This false idea is hammered into the minds and hearts of legalistic followers from the earliest ages.  They grow up knowing that anything bad is the result of their own sin.  Once the person gains enough strength to leave the system, he or she will encounter challenges.  The normal response is that the challenges come because of disobedience.  This is communicated directly through any continuing contact with family or friends in the system, but it is also considered axiomatic by the person.  The only way out of the trouble or challenge is to return to the system in repentance.

 

There’s more to say on this, so watch for tomorrow’s post!