I have met many people who are held captive by their past. We hear the life stories of those who are prisoners or those who claim they are forever scarred by the circumstances of their past. The theme that, at least I hear, coming from people who may have been victims of emotional or physical abuse in their past, is the blame for their actions lies with what happened to them.
In other words, it’s not their fault they’re on drugs that’s how they were raised or it’s not their fault they can’t emotionally connect with anyone it’s what happened to them when they were young. Read the following passage of Scripture. Ex 20:5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand [ generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments NIV. There are two ways we might interpret this Scripture. One is that there exists what is commonly known as a generational curse. This curse, according to that interpretation, falls on innocent people who had nothing to do with the original crime or sin. There are many who believe that any generational curse was lifted when the blood of Christ was shed for our sins.
The second way we could interpret this Scripture is to look at it developmentally. In other words, how do humans develop? We typically follow in the footsteps of our parents, it’s what we know. If our parents have a problem with some vice, like drinking, it is statistically more likely that we will too. If a parent is intelligent and uses that intelligence to further himself, it is statistically more likely that the child will develop a higher capacity for intelligence. So, we are not victims of our past but rather moldable products of our past. Too many people though, choose the victim mentality and become a prisoner to the circumstances of their past.
There are four quick keys that can help us break the power of our past: First, we should understand that our history has a place in our present. We are molded and shaped into the people we are today by our past. Research has given us the proof we need to understand two things about human development: First, we become who we are taught to be as children; both directly and indirectly and second, as adults, we have the ability to use the information we have about ourselves to shape our future.
When Joseph stood before his brothers as the Prime Minister of Egypt his response to them included his past and how, as negative as it was, it shaped his present. If you remember, he was made fun of for his dreams, thrown into a pit by his brothers, sold for the price of a handicap slave, accused of raping his master’s wife, thrown into a dungeon, and forgotten by his friends. That’s a pretty ugly past. Certainly we could agree Joseph had the capacity to be angry and bitter but he was able to break the power of his past. Listen to his response to his brothers, Gen 50:20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. NIV
Notice the difference in Joseph’s statement and a statement we might make about our past. “This is just who I am, I am a circumstance of my past.” This kind of statement gives us permission to be wounded, to be a failure, to live in sin. In other words, it says we have no control over who we are and have become a victim to what we encounter on a daily basis. It is this victim mentality that gives our history a power over our lives. This victim mentality begins to dictate who we are and hinder us from becoming what God would have us be.
Secondly, our history has a power over our present. When we give ourselves over to a victim mentality because of a questionable history, we imprison ourselves and possibly our children to repeat it. Here is what happened to King David when he chose to commit adultery with Bathsheba and murder her husband to cover it up. 2 Sam 12:13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die.” NIV When we look at the lineage of David, we see some great things accomplished but we also see how he and his children became a victim to sexual sin. His sin was passed down to his sons and eventually cost him the throne. Absalom, David’s son, raped his sister and tried to over throw his father as king of Israel. Solomon the eventual successor of David followed in his father’s sexual sin, having many concubines. There is no doubt that as we study the Scripture, David was never the king he was after his illegitimate son was born to Bathsheba and died.
Some people have trouble forgiving themselves for what they have done. Thereby imprisoning themselves in a victim’s world and sentencing themselves to repeat history over and over. Other people have trouble forgiving others for what they have done. These people have a legitimate reason for being the victim as they were victimized. The difference is many want to remain the victim years after the victimization has taken place. We must learn to let things go, realizing that it has happened and there is nothing we can do to change it, and stop wasting time and energy trying to change what cannot be changed. Paul J. Meyer in his book Forgiveness the Ultimate Miracle said, “I find it very interesting that those who know how to forgive also have a very positive self-image. This is no accident. Forgiveness is reflected in our self-image and our self-image is impacted by our ability to forgive. They are intrinsically connected.”
Thirdly, His story has a place in our present. We must come to the belief that Christ’s death was not in vain, that He died because He loved us, for our salvation, for our healing. His place in our present is our daily hope that we can be conquerors. Listen to what Paul says in Romans 8:37-39 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. NIV
Lastly, His story has a power over our eternity. When we give ourselves over to Christ, the power our past has held over us is broken! 2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! NIV It is not some magical thing that happens when we choose Christ but rather a thoughtful and mindful observation we must make that we are a new creation, that what has happened in my past does not have to be seen by me as a negative path but rather can be reframed to see it as a pathway to Christ himself. Now that we are a new creation, we can have power over our own past, being free from this victim mentality, using our own past to help bring others to know Christ.
Ps 31:21-24 Praise be to the LORD, for he showed his wonderful love to me when I was in a besieged city. 22 In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from your sight!” Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help. 23 Love the LORD, all his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full. 24 Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD. NIV
Tags: Depression, Past, Victim
