HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, August 9, 2024 – One of the most common lies that the devil tells is that we’re victims, that we’re not to blame, that it’s not our fault. He’s been very successful with this lie throughout the ages, which is why he continues to tell it. Most people would prefer to hear that they’re victims (and to benefit from their perceived victimhood financially, socially, or otherwise) than to acknowledge that they’ve brought their suffering on themselves.

Jesus was the only one who didn’t earn the pain he suffered. The rest of us – including us born-again believers – suffer what we’ve earned either through our disobedience to God or as some kind of test. In either case, our response to our suffering needs to be the same – patient endurance and forgiving those who hurt us. We will never achieve peace or resolution of our pain if we fight it or refuse to own it by saying: “I haven’t earned this; it’s not fair”.

God’s justice is perfect. The way the world is today, here and now, is perfectly just according to what has been earned, mitigated by God’s mercy for those who’ve shown mercy. Those who live by the dictates of the world will stubbornly refuse to accept that “the pain you feel is the pain you’ve earned” and so will fight against anyone they see as hurting them in some way. Fingers will be pointed, blame will be cast, and thoughts of revenge and self-pity will take root and flourish. This is how pain is recycled and amplified into greater pain and is the main reason why most people grow worse and worse emotionally as they age, irrespective of their finances, social standing, or worldly achievements.

We in the Kingdom cannot refuse to accept that the pain we feel is the pain we’ve earned. We cannot cast ourselves in the role of victim or point fingers of blame. Yes, people will do cruel things to us (some of which we’ve earned, some of which are tests), but our default response must always be the same – “Forgive them Father, they don’t know what they’re doing” – and our forgiveness must be total and absolute, not partial and conditional.

We don’t revisit past pains. We learn from them, but we don’t bring them up again either in conversation or in our own minds. We are as if they never happened, the way God is as if the sins he’s forgiven us never happened. We’ll be tested on that. And if we fail that test, we’ll have to redo it until we get it right.

The notion of blameless victimhood is satanic. It is one of Satan’s most successful lies not only because people fall for it almost without exception, but because it leads to worse and worse outcomes the longer it remains unresolved. Victimhood spawns more victimhood, moving in a downward spiral that draws other people into the victimhood narrative like into a deep dark whirlpool. All those who encourage the victimhood are likewise pulled in and drowned, mainly in the alleged victim’s self-pity.

I am not saying we should be distant or cruel to those who are suffering. We’re here on Earth to be present and kind, not distant and cruel. At the same time, we also need to remember that those who live according to the world’s dictates will not accept God’s Truth about the source of their suffering, so there’s no point in trying to inform them about it. You’ll only enrage them and make things worse for them (and for yourself). Better to let them be and to offer kindnesses as a balm, as God directs you to offer them. But never join them in their finger-pointing or plans for revenge. To do so would be to declare that God’s perfect justice is imperfect.

On the other hand, those of us in the Kingdom must never hesitate to remind ourselves and each other that all our pain, whether earned or as a test, must be endured patiently and with God’s help. We don’t run to the world for sympathy or restitution. We don’t fight wars or back those who do. We don’t protest. We don’t sign petitions. We don’t vote. We love our neighbours and our enemies equally, and we treat others as we want to be treated, not necessarily as we are treated. We don’t get involved in the affairs of the world, because the world is under the direction and authority of Satan, with God’s permission. We don’t ignore the world or withdraw from the world; we need to be aware of what’s going on in the world, all while holding it at arm’s length, like Jesus did, and being kind, like Jesus was, but otherwise letting it be.

The world is God’s perfect justice unfolding in real time, and you don’t mess with perfection.

We’re not here for a good time and we’re not here for a long time. We’re here to get done whatever we need to get done, doing it to the best of our ability and in full submission to God. That is the summarized job description of a born-again follower of Jesus.

And when we’re done doing whatever it is we need to get done and are in right standing with God, we get to go Home.

Oh, Happy Day!