Victim. Definition: one that is acted on and usually adversely affected by a force or agent. That definition includes everyone who has ever lived on the planet Earth. We’re all victims. Some people have no trouble admitting this. Life has been hard on them and they can’t see any way things could have worked out differently. To others those who are comfortable being victims appear complicit in staying down and out. The polarity of those who admit to being victims and those who detest them have loaded the phrase “victim mentality” with so much cultural, socio-economic, gender, or racial baggage it’s best to never describe some one that way who is actually standing in the room with you.
The idea that we’re all victims, whether we want to admit it or not, comes with the territory of living in a world where others can “do unto us however they want”, whether we like it not. A few weeks ago I noticed this theme in every single one of the parables our films are based on. The characters inside these stories are all victims, harmed as a result of a particular force or agent. Most often the inciting incident in each parable we have adapted is something harmful; unfair judgments, inconvenient invitations, poor job performance, an unexpected late night visitor, or even getting mugged. The rest of the parable unfolds along the lines of the main characters’ response to their given circumstance, whether it is of their making or not.
However, some of the parables seem devoid of inherent conflict, and thus you may be hard pressed to find a victim in them. One such parable is the Parable of the Mustard Seed. The Lime DVD(available Feb. 2010) includes a short film called “Charlie” based on this parable. The original parable recounts a relatively benign chain of events, a seed that is planted and grows into a tree. Though the sequence of events in this parable could appear completely automatic at first glance, if you take a harder look you will see the seed is a victim. It did not choose where it would be planted, and perhaps it is emotionally scarred from being forced to leave mom and dad. Then there are the inevitable winters, the droughts and parasites, and potentially a gardener who needs to do some pruning.
The parables of Jesus are often referred to as stories about everyday people and events told in such a way to make a Heavenly point. When you look at the parables with a victim mentality you see they are stories about everyday people and events told in such a way to make a point about everyday people and events. If you haven’t been already, you will be a victim at some point in your life. Everyone is a victim. The message of the parables is simply this, how will you respond when the victim is you?
Isaiah 58:6-10 calls us all to help out the victims of this world. Here are two organizations that exist to help those who cannot help themselves, at risk urban youth and the unborn.
Higher M-Pact – Offering Hope to High Risk Urban Youth
http://www.highermpact.org/
Care Net – With the support of Care Net and its network of pregnancy centers, people facing unplanned pregnancies are choosing life and hope everyday.
http://www.care-net.org/
Victims
Victim. Definition: one that is acted on and usually adversely affected by a force or agent. That definition includes everyone who has ever lived on the planet Earth. We’re all victims. Some people have no trouble admitting this. Life has been hard on them and they can’t see any way things could have worked out differently. To others those who are comfortable being victims appear complicit in staying down and out. The polarity of those who admit to being victims and those who detest them have loaded the phrase “victim mentality” with so much cultural, socio-economic, gender, or racial baggage it’s best to never describe some one that way who is actually standing in the room with you.
The idea that we’re all victims, whether we want to admit it or not, comes with the territory of living in a world where others can “do unto us however they want”, whether we like it not. A few weeks ago I noticed this theme in every single one of the parables our films are based on. The characters inside these stories are all victims, harmed as a result of a particular force or agent. Most often the inciting incident in each parable we have adapted is something harmful; unfair judgments, inconvenient invitations, poor job performance, an unexpected late night visitor, or even getting mugged. The rest of the parable unfolds along the lines of the main characters’ response to their given circumstance, whether it is of their making or not.
However, some of the parables seem devoid of inherent conflict, and thus you may be hard pressed to find a victim in them. One such parable is the Parable of the Mustard Seed. The Lime DVD(available Feb. 2010) includes a short film called “Charlie” based on this parable. The original parable recounts a relatively benign chain of events, a seed that is planted and grows into a tree. Though the sequence of events in this parable could appear completely automatic at first glance, if you take a harder look you will see the seed is a victim. It did not choose where it would be planted, and perhaps it is emotionally scarred from being forced to leave mom and dad. Then there are the inevitable winters, the droughts and parasites, and potentially a gardener who needs to do some pruning.
The parables of Jesus are often referred to as stories about everyday people and events told in such a way to make a Heavenly point. When you look at the parables with a victim mentality you see they are stories about everyday people and events told in such a way to make a point about everyday people and events. If you haven’t been already, you will be a victim at some point in your life. Everyone is a victim. The message of the parables is simply this, how will you respond when the victim is you?
Isaiah 58:6-10 calls us all to help out the victims of this world. Here are two organizations that exist to help those who cannot help themselves, at risk urban youth and the unborn.
Higher M-Pact – Offering Hope to High Risk Urban Youth
http://www.highermpact.org/
Care Net – With the support of Care Net and its network of pregnancy centers, people facing unplanned pregnancies are choosing life and hope everyday.
http://www.care-net.org/