Spiritual Abuse--An Overview

Maybe you've seen me mention spiritual abuse a couple of times lately on this blog, and are wondering what in the world I'm talking about. In today's world, we're free to talk about physical abuse, and we all understand it's wrong. Or, at least I hope we do. Sexual abuse is a hot topic. But spiritual abuse... we reel at that idea. How does one take something spiritual, and thus generally accepted as good, and add abuse to it? Don't those two words represent opposing ideology?

They should. They really should. Far too often, though, they become melded into a devastating whole.

Some people will jump on this bandwagon as victims and ride it for all it's worth. Some people will refuse to acknowledge that they may be victims... or abusers... or both. A few will carefully scrutinize this concept, accept their situation, and seek healing and hope. For there is healing and hope in honesty and facing up to reality instead of hiding from it.

So, what is spiritual abuse?

Maybe we should ask, what is abuse?

The dictionary defines abuse a couple of different ways: 1. to use something to bad effect or for a bad purpose; 2. to treat a person or an animal with cruelty or violence, especially regularly or repeatedly; and 3. speaking in an insulting and offensive way to or about someone.

I see spiritual abuse checking off all those definitions. But it's subtle, elusive, and smothered in Bible verses handpicked for the occasion. Spiritual abuse encompasses so much it's hard to pin down a definition to a reasonable sentence. To attempt the impossible though, it's basically coming between someone and God, and using God to control another person's life. It uses someone's desire to please God or fear of Him to squelch the person He created them to be. It can be very cruel, and occasionally violent, especially to the helpless, and when it is so, it is usually regular and repeated. And it causes many people to speak insultingly of and to others.

Before you walk away and say you don't know what I'm talking about, you or your fellow church members would never do such a thing, stop a little longer.

Do you see the people in your church/fellowship/community as better, healthier, happier, and having more of God's revelation of His word than the church down the street, or someone you might randomly meet somewhere? Do you feel you stick to His Word in obedience when most others on the "outside" don't? Do you feel you have it all together, and mostly figured out what a good Christian life consists of? Then, maybe you could stop to consider whether you are walking the walk of the Pharisees or the publican.

...to be continued, in the Saga of a Pharisee.