Today, I want to talk about Abuse.
If you allow abuse in your life, you’re hindering your growth, stealing from yourself your beautiful future—and stealing from others the blessing you can be to them.
Anyone can be an abuser: A husband, a wife, a mother, a father, a son, a daughter, an aunt, an uncle, a nephew, a niece, a boss, an officemate, a teacher, a classmate, a friend, a neighbor… And abusers come in many forms and degrees.
Let me give you an extreme example: We rescued a woman who was beaten by her husband for 18 years. His favorite form of torture was holding her hand flat on the wall, and with a hammer, crush her fingers. When I met the guy, he looked shy and soft spoken, like he couldn’t kill a fly. But when angry, he was a monster.
And guess what? You may not know it, but you can be an abuser too. The hammer guy is extreme, but we too can abuse others in very subtle ways.
Do you have a temper problem? At one moment, you lash out on your kids, or spouse, or employees, and say things you later regret? Do you act in a self-centered way, using people as pawns, not thinking of their wellbeing, but only of your own goals?
In one sense, because we’re prone to selfishness, at different times, we can be the abuser.
So please listen to this entire talk asking two important questions: (1) “Am I abusive?” and (2) “Am I being abused?”
Love Is Tough
The only antidote to an abuser is tough love.
Paul said, “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10).
Sounds cruel, right?
But it’s only as cruel as teaching your baby to walk. I taught my two sons to walk, even if I knew they were going to fall—and cry—many times along the way. If I wanted them to avoid the falling, then I would have just let them crawl around for the rest of their life. Wouldn’t that be more cruel?
In the same way, tough love may be the trigger that will force someone to change his life.
The Bible also says, “A worker’s appetite works for him, for his hunger urges him on (Proverbs 16:26 NASB).” Point? Don’t always save people from their hunger. Because that hunger may move him to change.
Today, I’m declaring your freedom. I’m declaring your liberation. God wants to set you free from abuse.
Are you being abused? Or are you abusing others? Most often, both the abused and the abusers are in denial. For them, abuse is normal.
But today, God wants to liberate you from abuse. God wants to set you free from whatever is enslaving you right now. Say it out loud: “I’m free!”
Here’s my big message for you today: Care for yourself the way God cares for you.
May your dreams come true,
Bo Sanchez
