Discovering the power of forgiveness
In the recent past, IBLP president and founder Bill Gothard called upon Godly Lawyers to initiate a class action lawsuit on behalf of the children of divorced parents against their parents for the emotional and spiritual damage inflicted through the divorce. [Ed. note: one of those rare instances of truth on this site.]
While X-ATI Guy conducts himself with utmost care and respect, may we point out the universal, non-optional principles this lawsuit would violate?
Authority. Each of us is placed under God-ordained authority for the purpose of receiving God's direction and building character. God gives grace to those who respond properly to their authorities, and it is unwise for children to question the decisions of their parents. Children who reject parental direction by suing their parents for marital dissolution are not free to grow in God's grace.
Suffering. Life always brings suffering through the actions of others. Proverbs advises that faithful are the wounds of those who are close to us. Those who sue parents for the hurts they cause have rejected God's sovereignty, instead falling prey to a victim mentality. Not only does Jesus command us to forgive our enemies in the Sermon on the Mount, but God also instructs us to give thanks in all things. It is impossible to rejoice in suffering when involved in fractious litigation.
Responsibility. The principle of responsibility teaches us to take responsibility for our own thoughts, words, actions and attitudes. Children of divorced parents should acknowledge that they may have had some fault in the breakup of their parents. This knowledge will help them to avoid taking up offenses.
Overcoming bitterness. Lawsuits indicate a root of bitterness by the litigant. The key to overcoming bitterness is to forgive your offender and release them to God's punishment, which is rarely distributed through the civil court system.
Additional thoughts:
In The Rewards of Being Reviled, Bill Gothard teaches us that we should not speak evil of those in leadership over us. Lawsuits often involve speaking evil of the opposing party in open court. Rather than documenting our offenses in the public record, we should seek private reconciliation.
In The Power of Spoken Blessings, Bill Gothard also teaches that we can grant freedom from years of hurts through spoken blessings, which are rarely communicated in class action lawsuits.
8 Comments:
Couldn't agree more. I've also heard Heavy G talk for years about suing Churches for contributing to the delinquency of minors by playing contemporary Christian music.
One thing you may have missed is the principle of Design. Marriage is not designed to be an eternal condition, i.e. there will be no marriage in heaven. Too often we forget that our earthly experience is just a vapor.
Hey, X-er, would you consider doing an article on the dangers of rock music? I recently did some research and found that rock music kills plants, possibly algae and maybe even bacteria. This data was always pitched in a way that made the music itself seem dangerous, but it's now occurring to me that ammonia and other cleansers do the same thing! How many of us want plants growing on us or in our cars? Is it possible that Rock music may be a good way to actually promote good hygiene? I actually asked this of a scientist who published similar information on the dangers of rock music and he never responded. Maybe he never thought about the fact that we aren't plants. =)
"Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?" How come this ACTUAL New Testament teaching on defrauding never gets brought up? ;-)
Yes, maybe this is why he started OBCL. Unfortunately for him and fortunately for the rest of us, the subliminal messages on the audio lectures (both played forward and backward) and the scriptural applications that the students never read haven't proven particularly effective. Maybe they should audit some of the music albums that use those tactics quite effectively. I'm sure they'll get better results.
In the recent past, IBLP president and founder Bill Gothard called upon Godly Lawyers to initiate a class action lawsuit on behalf of the children of divorced parents against their parents for the emotional and spiritual damage inflicted through the divorce. [Ed. note: one of those rare instances of truth on this site
* Just wondering if there could be a class action lawsuit against IBLP and Gothard on behalf of the children whos parents subjected them to that teaching for emotional and spiritual damage.
Just wondering.
it says in the Bible that brothers should not sue brothers. suing churches, and suing Christian parents who divorced, is *problematic*. How are we to know if they are really "SAVED" or not? If they are, or might be, then we better not sue them!
How are we to know if they are really "SAVED" or not? If they are, or might be, then we better not sue them!
**The Bible also says we shall know them by their fruit. Frankly, the fruit is way overly ripe. Waaay. Sue away is what I say.
That last post is sounding a bit Dr. Suess-ish.
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