i am a book. i am a victim.

This is something I've been chewing on for a while. On top of that, I think about it in some form almost every day. Here we go.

I am a victim.

Not of a crime necessarily. Not of a jerk boss who fired me. I'm not a victim of bad parenting, the government being weird, or being disowned by someone close to me. Those things might be included, but don't have to be.

Further, when I say "I am a victim" I am rhetorically speaking for everybody. So.... every human now gets swept under the rug of this category I'm building - VICTIM. Rape, murder, abuse, crime, war, hatred, prejudices, etc, etc, ad infinitum. Everybody is a victim. My heart hurts for these people. It sincerely does. It aches.

However.

Nevertheless.

Consequently.

Yet [and every other adversative conjunction imaginable].

It doesn't really mean a thing. I say that in the same way Jesus said to hate your parents. It really doesn't mean anything in light of the fact that your are a sinner. You are a rebel. You, on your own and apart from Christ, are a hater of God. This doesn't mean that you as a sinner replaces you as a victim. It means that your victimization should be viewed with respect to your sinfulness. In fact, it is likely that you are a victim because you are a sinner. You don't deserve the pity that comes your way because you are a victim - whether it is a racial, medical, physical, financial, or psychological problem. You, me, us - we are sinners. We are in need of mercy.

Being a victim is bad and sad. Being a sinner is worse. But the combination of the two is damning to highest degree. When we play our victim card, we subconsciously deny that we have a sinner card in our back pocket. This essentially says that we deserve some sort of pitiful compassion. And that, that is a backdoor distortion of grace.

How dependent we are on outside means can never be over-articulated. He is our only prayer. Our only hope. Our only chance.

Be humble, Jim.