Purpose Pace

I felt like one blog post on victimhood was not enough. I believe the topic deserves a deeper dive, a second look if you will. What are the dangers of falling to a victim mentality? What if one truly is a victim of crime or abuse? What’s so wrong with victimhood? How does my victim thinking hurt anyone else?

In America, we have what’s called the American dream. “We have been endowed by our Creator certain unalienable rights, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” What powerful words, written with indelible ink! Sounds nice, doesn’t it? American’s have it deep in our subconscious, that we should have whatever our heart’s desire, and that people should treat us a certain way. People in sales and business ads tell all the time the we deserve to treat ourselves, so we buy whatever product and or service. The ad works because it talks to our inner selves. They tell us what we tell ourselves, “I deserve to pursue happiness.” I can’t speak for everyone, but many deal with a deep sense of entitlement. One side of American government heavily relies on this sense in the American people. They oppress by convincing people that they are not who they want to be or have what they want to have because someone else either took it from them or didn’t give them what they needed to be successful. Not that I am opposed to the foundation laid by the founding fathers, or people finding happiness. I’m just not convinced that happiness is attained through accumulation of material wealth, especially gain achieved by intentions driven by entitlement.

Why do I bring this up and how does it effect victimhood? Is it possible that a victim mentality can be closely tied to an entitled heart? One that can’t deal with someone disagreeing with them (Charlie Kirk’s shooter). An individual that truly believes that my progress is someone else’s responsibility. “I should be able to do whatever I want (because that’s my right), and no one should ever have any qualms about it.” People are screaming tolerance, yet are scarcely tolerate anyone who opposes their view point. When we believe people are oppressing us and not giving us what we think we deserve, it falsely makes us the victim and them the oppressor. We then have a false narrative and a faulty reality. Food, shelter, water, clothing (not wi-fi and smartphones, I know, shocker) are basic human needs. Americans have this in abundance. Even the poor in America would be considered rich in other countries.

If we have this false sense of victimhood we will be debilitated. We then have place our responsibility to pursue happiness in someone else’s hands. Paralyzed by our own world view, then stuck in a vicious cycle of greed, let down, blame, and self-destruction. My desire is not to fight or put people down, but rather to empower! Jesus empowers victims by saying “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. (more to come on this thought)” If you have a dream, pursue it! If you want a career, learn and grow until you achieve it. If you want to lose weight, stop blaming government systems, McDonalds, and grocery stores. Get out there, walk, run, do pushups! We have never had more information and resources at our fingertips, but for some odd reason, if I’m not happy or have what I want, it’s someone else’s fault. We may have favorable circumstances or unfavorable, but our future rests solely on whether we take responsibility and shoulder the weight to move forward. If entertainment is high on our priority list we are doomed to fail. Read. Learn. Grow. Use YouTube as your college, not your escape from reality in order to numb your senses. Don’t feed your depression! Starve it with setting high goals for yourself and attaining them.

The most successful people I know have unbelievable and legitimate reasons not to be. But they were steadfast, faithful, and true. They stayed the course. They worked hard. They scrimped and saved. They made wise decisions. They learned to be financially sound. They invested their money and saw their wealth grow over time. They learned to be content with what they had, but not with being complacent. If you are a Christian, change your definition of happiness to be centered around Christ rather then entitlement. If your not a Christian, won’t you consider what He (Jesus) did for you on the cross? Are you seeking to accomplish His will? Are you wanting to know more about His teachings? Do you diligently study the Scripture? Is your heart sensitive to biblical values? God’s priority is not our happiness, not that He is in opposition. He knows that He is the fuel on which our spirits feed and that happiness will be a biproduct of us living according to His design. Out of the acceptance that Jesus gives, may we live, grow, and do this or that. And as we go, may we share His love with others. May we enjoy the journey, appreciate the struggle!
When I focus on Him and His love for me the things of this earth grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace!