Life Tools

The Victimhood Trap

Dr. Mike 2021, Life Tools, Traps , ,

Job 7:1

“Has not man a hard service on earth, and are not his days like the days of a hired hand?

1 Timothy 4:10

For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

Victimhood is anti-God. The mindset blames others for their situation and wants justice and compensation for their pain. Rather than accept personal responsibility and extend Godly grace toward the other side, they would rather play the martyr and exploit the sympathy of others.

Victimhood is a disease of the soul. The seed of human potential slowly dissipates and lays dormant under the mental chains of demonic slavery. The good works the soul was designed to produce for the benefit of others will never come about. Instead of being a contributor toward the future benefit of mankind, the person becomes a burden and expensive cost for society to manage.        

Victimhood is the mental curse of hopelessness. A mindset which steals one’s future. A person without hope lives a dark, shallow life. Fear becomes their companion. The alternative though is hopefulness; the catapult toward a richer life.

Wherever you place your hope, will be tested. You will either become stronger, or your hope will disintegrate before your eyes. Many a man and woman have experienced the painful darkness of emptiness where doubt and futility reign. Where hope for any favorable solution seems impossible.  Yet as Romans 15:4 reminds us, hope is always available.  One only needs to know where to look for real, lasting HOPE.

We can tell you where not to look for hope. They are the enemy of hope. They want to control and manipulate your attitude for their benefit. They will bombard you with negative, dark images to sway you away from your potential and leave you beaten from the anguish of your situation.

These are the many politicians, advertisers, and media influencers who use tools of deception and propaganda to sway your thinking toward them. They package their product, or their solution as your hope for the future. Yet as history has repeatedly shown, the majority of their promises only leads to more hopelessness in the long run. The best solution is to tune them out and refocus your thinking on where real hope is found.

The Book of Job is an excellent story of a man who was swallowed into the pit of hopelessness. Everything rich and near to him was taken away including his health. In self-pity and self-righteous indignation, the reader travels with him and his companions as his thoughts and actions take him from despair to the restoration of real hope. Through his entire ordeal he learns real hope is only found in God.

The first encounter with victimhood in the Bible is Lucifer being thrown from heaven for rebelling against God and becoming Satan. Instead of accepting personal responsibility for his ignorance and behavior, he blames God for his situation. His hope now is not in God but in his own ability to sway the human race to fight for him against God and for the delusional utopia he dreams of producing. This evil spirit is the main culprit behind the plot to steal your hope.    

Therefore, instead of following the pathway of false hope, secure real hope by placing your trust in Jesus Christ. He is mankind’s only proven hope. 

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & Founder of
Vocational Leadership 360!
Author of e-Books:

 *  Dancing With God: Life-Giving Theology Explained
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

Encourage a Friend…Share Today’s Message!

Copyright 2013-2021 Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved

Freedom Requires Moral Discipline

Dr. Mike Life Tools , , ,

1 Corinthians 15:33

Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

Moral discipline is the fuel for real freedom. Without moral discipline, freedom requires an overdose of law, attorneys, courts, large governments, and manpower for enforcement. As a nation accepts a lower level of moral discipline, justice becomes a historical relic of the past.

Moral discipline starts with an internal fortitude built upon a foundation of personal responsibility and acceptance of a higher Authority. The fact is nations whose governments are built upon Judaeo-Christian values experience a greater level of security, peace, and flourishment than others.

Real freedom is where people can speak their minds without fear of physical repercussion: a fruit of the people who appreciate and never take for granted the alternatives.

Real freedom is where people can choose their livelihood built upon their natural talents and abilities; these rights are quickly suppressed under nations whose governments dictate what is best for the people.

Real freedom is where people can worship the God of their choice without fear of penalty or job loss; again, a privilege which is typically forbidden under dictatorships and power elites.

Real freedom is where parents may have as large a family as they choose; another choice which  is lost amount countries whose governments plan the social structure of their nation.

To be free requires self-control and respect of others. The moral framework is developed through the teaching of parents and educators who understand the importance of character building and the instruction of best values. Ungodly people poo-poo the Bible. Yet the book shares experiences of multiple people throughout history and the choices and decisions they made. These outcomes highlight various values which allowed people to flourish and other values which destroyed nations. History repeats itself because human nature has the tenancy to do the same stupid behavior over and over again. The names and places may be different, but the outcome is always the same.

The constant battle to forgo our harmful behavior becomes greater when the people we hang around with are pulling us away from doing the good. You may think of yourself as a “good person.” But when you are around bad company, why do you end up regretting your actions or words? To develop and maintain a solid foundation of moral character and the exercise of it requires an extreme amount of self-control. Most of us fall far short of what it takes. The solution?

It starts with surrendering ourselves to a higher power. His name is Jesus Christ. Under His tutelage, you will gain knowledge, understanding, and wisdom which leads to a more productive and flourishing life. He will empower you with His Spirit. The same Spirit that is working to transform lives into the divine image of your Maker. The fruit of Him living in you will give you the self-control and other tools to live out a moral, disciplined life. As you walk it out with Him, you will find yourself experiencing life the way God created you to enjoy.

A good God with good friends will help you build good morals; and good morals will lead you toward a more fulfilling life with real freedom.  Yes, its that simple, but not easy. It all begins when God is the real center of your life.   

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & Founder of
Vocational Leadership 360
Author of e-Books:

 *  Dancing With God: Life-Giving Theology Explained
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

Encourage a Friend…Share Today’s Message!

Copyright 2013-2020 Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved

Fruit of Ungodliness

Dr. Mike Life Tools , , , ,

Romans 1:18

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

The first chapter of the Book of Romans does an excellent outline of the characteristics of the ungodly life. In fact, when one reads the chapter, one can easily identify the platform of a political party of this country. But leaving politics out at the moment, when you read through the 1st chapter you come across the attitudinal spirit which leads to ungodly behavior. Starting from verse 18 through 32, you find:

Suppressing the truth – the ungodly don’t care for the truth of a matter; only the personal fulfillment of their self-centered agenda.

Failure to honor God – God is removed from the equation and therefore doesn’t receive the respect and acknowledgement of his authority in their life.

Ungrateful toward God – In their eyes, God is the problem, not the solution.

Futile in their thinking – Rational thinking without God as the center leads to many theories but rarely a solid conclusion.

Foolish, darken hearts – The emotional center of the person is generally negative with strong leanings toward the dark side of life. Wisdom is lacking.

Claiming to be wise, they became fools – Wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord is how the Book of Proverbs explains. Without God, they reach conclusions without logical reasoning and wonder why their lives continue to be expressed in stupid outcomes rather than victorious celebrations. 

Exchange the glory of God for other images – they worship and glorify the idols of power, money, fame, status, etc. rather than God who makes all things possible.

Hearts of impurity – Rather than a rich, emotional inner chamber of love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, kindness, and self-control, their inner Spirit is empty and mostly full with the darkness of life.

Dishonoring their bodies among themselves – adultery, prostitution, abortion, etc.

Exchanged truth about God for a lie – The biggest lie is eliminating God from the equation of life. Lies distort the truth and reality. Without truth and reality, one is dealing with a fictional narrative. Without God, how many other lies and distortions of reality are built upon the shifting foundation of one’s beliefs? Lies are empty promises with trap doors leading to pain, suffering, and delusional outcomes.

Worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator – They worship humans, animals, earth, institutions, anything and everything rather than the God who designed and implemented Life from the beginning.

Dishonorable passions – women having sex with other women; likewise, men with men; and people having sex even with animals.

Committing shameless acts with one another – lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender sexual behavior is accepted by each but contrary of a godly, fulfilling life.    

Filled with evil, covetousness, malice, envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness, gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless – all negative attributes which lead toward societal suicide and destruction. A community cannot flourish when people oppose one another rather than up-build each other toward a common purpose built upon historical proven values.  

Approve others who practice these attributes – people like too associate with people like themselves.

We all have at times experienced similar ungodly attributes. The differences are those who regularly practice such behavior instead of once in a while unwanted blowups. Those who have surrendered themselves and have accepted the authority of Jesus Christ in their life, have changed their focus from glorifying self to worshiping the Triune God. Learning to walk as an apprentice of Jesus Christ covered under God’s grace, filled with HIS presence, and constantly pursuing a growing relationship with HIM, leads to a life where HIS life and beauty becomes a reflection in our life. A life worth meaning and purpose and flourishment for self and others.

Which is why the glory and honor is ALL HIS as we humbly walk with HIM.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & Founder of
Vocational Leadership 360
Author of e-Books:

 *  Dancing With God: Life-Giving Theology Explained
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

Encourage a Friend…Share Today’s Message!

Copyright 2013-2020 Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved