As some of you know, I spent over 20 years in the behavioral health field. Over that time I got to know a lot of people who were addicted to drugs. When I was young, I thought “why is it so difficult to stop doing the drug that is destroying your life? “ What I didn’t understand was that their addiction was not only about the substance they took it was about the community they were involved in. These were people who were connected to other addicts, and so giving up their substance meant giving up their friends, their family and the community in which they felt most comfortable.
Once I realized this, I had compassion on them. Now, this didn’t make the reality of their addiction less serious, but I began to see that they needed much more than just an end to their substance of choice. They actually needed hope that if they came out of their community there would be others who accepted and loved them. The other thing I gained: I was able to speak to the impending pain of loss that they would most certainly feel after being disconnected from those with whom they have relationships.
Cults, like Seventh-day Adventists, understand this principle, and they use it against their followers. They create a religion of isolation, where, “stepping away” means eviction from an entire community. Mormons also use this principle: they will even harass, follow, and publicly disparage those who turn away from their practices. This is the reality they face if they are ever “wrong“ in their beliefs, not just a different way of understanding the Lord, but isolation from their friends, family and peers.
So, this is a call to be compassionate, to an extent, for the cult members who argue their position seemingly without fatigue. Their position means more to them than just being right religiously. It also assuages their fears of being excommunicated from their communities. This is why there is so much energy behind it: they are trying to preserve the life they have obtained.
This is good to keep in mind for those of us who understand our position in Christ is not about what we do but about who God made us to be.
Once I realized this, I had compassion on them. Now, this didn’t make the reality of their addiction less serious, but I began to see that they needed much more than just an end to their substance of choice. They actually needed hope that if they came out of their community there would be others who accepted and loved them. The other thing I gained: I was able to speak to the impending pain of loss that they would most certainly feel after being disconnected from those with whom they have relationships.
Cults, like Seventh-day Adventists, understand this principle, and they use it against their followers. They create a religion of isolation, where, “stepping away” means eviction from an entire community. Mormons also use this principle: they will even harass, follow, and publicly disparage those who turn away from their practices. This is the reality they face if they are ever “wrong“ in their beliefs, not just a different way of understanding the Lord, but isolation from their friends, family and peers.
So, this is a call to be compassionate, to an extent, for the cult members who argue their position seemingly without fatigue. Their position means more to them than just being right religiously. It also assuages their fears of being excommunicated from their communities. This is why there is so much energy behind it: they are trying to preserve the life they have obtained.
This is good to keep in mind for those of us who understand our position in Christ is not about what we do but about who God made us to be.
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