Despitefully used!?

I could spend time talking about abusive relationships. I could spend time talking about people trapped in those abusive relationships. All I would be doing is adding another voice to the choir. I am going to talk about a subject that most don't want to touch. My wife has said that my writing comes from a dark place. Her comments about my style of writing are the truth. There is a phrase people often use as a rebuttal. That phrase is, "it takes one to know one." It is a childish retort to an insult. A child will often get insulted by another child. In response, they say, "well, it takes one to know one!" 

From a scriptural point of view, there is an element of truth to this statement. Scripture teaches that the things we see in other people are often the very things we see in ourselves. I have spoken in a previous post that scripture is a mirror. If you will not take a look at yourself, then life has a way of showing who you are! People often use the word "karma" as a way of describing a biblical basis of, "your sin will find you out!'

One does not plant wheat and then expect a crop of cotton. God isn't one to be made a fool. A person will reap what they sow. It may not be now, the next day, or the near future, but rest assured you will reap what you sow. Sometimes it may come in the form of other people. What is it about that person that seems to get on your nerves? That person who "gossips"? That one person who irritates you?

But know this, that in the last days, grievous times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, no lovers of good, traitors, headstrong, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof. Turn away from these, also. For of these are those who creep into houses and take captive gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Even as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moshe, so do these also oppose the truth; men corrupted in mind; reprobate concerning the faith. But they will proceed no further. For their folly will be evident to all men, as theirs also came to be. - 2 Timothy 3:1-9 HNV

I have thought about one particular phrase in the above verse. It seems to stand out from the intensely negative character descriptions. The best way to describe this, in my opinion, is to take a look at the word "intimacy." A marriage is more than a legal document. It is more than just physical relations between a man and woman. It is about intimacy and the sharing of secrets you would trust no one else. Holding to a form of godliness can be likened to the attacks that Delilah used upon Samson. She used his love for her to discover his greatest weakness. When he told her, she turns around and uses it to destroy him. Some people hold to a form of the real thing. In my opinion, they hold themselves back (possibly due to a painful incident). There are numerous reasons why people would rather hold to a form of something instead of the real thing. When it doesn't last, they blame the "real thing" instead of the "form".


Sad!


Sincerely,

David A. Kitchens, Editor