Overcoming A Victim Mentality (4)
Thursday February 5, 2015
Jesus encountered a man who had been sick a long time. This man had many of the thoughts and responses that a person with a victim mentality has.
Soon another Feast came around and Jesus was back in Jerusalem. Near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there was a pool, in Hebrew called Bethesda, with five alcoves. Hundreds of sick people—blind, crippled, paralyzed—were in these alcoves. One man had been an invalid there for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him stretched out by the pool and knew how long he had been there, he said, “Do you want to get well?” The sick man said, “Sir, when the water is stirred, I don’t have anybody to put me in the pool. By the time I get there, somebody else is already in.” Jesus said, “Get up, take your bedroll, start walking.” The man was healed on the spot. He picked up his bedroll and walked off. (John 5:1-9 MSG)
This man represents so many who live with a victim mentality. His whole perspective is centered on his great neediness. He believes there is nothing he can do for himself and he is waiting for someone to bring about a miracle for him in his impossible situation. Since he never made it into the water in 38 years he seems to believe that it’s impossible for him to get the help he needs. Good things happen to others but not to him. Layer upon layer of hopelessness coloured this man’s perspective of life. It’s clear that he did not think he would ever get well.
Jesus knows that what we think is much more important to our well-being than what we see or experience around us. …whatever is in your heart determines what you say. (Matthew 12:34b NLT) People with a victim mentality appear not to want to get well. When one problem gets taken care of they’ll go looking for another one to replace it so they can live in the familiar rhythms of life as they know it.
Jesus was perfectly able to heal the physical needs of the invalid man and demonstrated that by healing him and giving him the power to pick up his bed and walk. However, Jesus didn’t want the man to just be healed physically. He challenged his lifestyle of self-pity, complaining, and hopelessness when he asked him “Do you want to get well?” Jesus wanted him to live a full and productive life and so ordered the man, “Get up, take your bedroll, start walking.” These are actions the man took and walked off to a new life.
Jesus can help us today to face any issue that has kept us from living life abundantly. Do we really want to live well?
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