Refer to STEP 4: I chose to accept as true what God has said about Himself. He is good and can be trusted. I recognized that God is not the abuser—people who misuse their authority are the abusers.
One of the lead news stories this week is about the “sect” in Texas where middle-aged men are polygamists who marry under-age girls. When most people hear about this story, they shake their heads and say, How could these people allow this to happen to themselves?
For those of us who have experienced spiritual abuse, we wonder, Why doesn’t this happen more often?
The reason is simple: The people in this sect, which is really a cult, believe they are living at a higher level of truth than the rest of society. They receive direct communication from God through their leadership, and they are actually being obedient to the will of God by living this lifestyle. In a bizarre way, they are quite arrogant because they look down upon the rest of us as less enlightened than they are. They are the “faithful remnant,” and we are the apostates.
This is how they perceive reality, and it’s exactly the way they think. In addition, the intervention of the state and the F.B.I. is proof of their worthiness to suffer for Christ.
Their thinking is that twisted. This is how they view reality, and each time someone from within tries to free himself or herself from this lifestyle, the rest have to “save the misguided one from themselves.”
Here’s the lesson to learn in this:
In any group you associate with, always check out their beliefs. If someone’s authority supercedes the Scriptures, run! No matter how much you like whatever they are doing, run for the exit—don’t walk!
