Khari’s Reviews > Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, The > Status Update

"If you start to say things out loud in a system where the 'can't talk' rule has reigned, more of the mess will be evident. And you will get the blame. But the truth never causes the mess, it just exposes it."

"Leaving does not kill a dead system, it just makes it look as dead as it is."

"It is the process of the Christian life to reteach my mind and soul how to rest in the promise of Life itself."

"Whenever I become aware of a sin-a behavior resulting from looking to my own performance instead of to what Jesus did on the cross-there is no shame. It is no final 'proof' that I am unworthy of God's grace and empowerment because I have temptation or I have sinned. It simply means that for a time, I again attempted to draw 'life' out of wrong sources and actions."

"If I teach Sunday school, serve on a committee, or offer money in order to validate myself or earn approval from God or someone else, it's also a sin...The sin...is not that I didn't do behaviors on the 'good list', because I did...It's that I tried to draw life and significance from something that could not give it. Instead of trusting God I turned to a false god-positive looking, but false just the same."

"If I use drugs, steal, or commit adultery in an attempt to meet my needs it is sin. What makes it sin is not that I performed a behavior on the 'bad list'-although I did do that. The sin is that I tried to draw life or significance from something that could not give it. Instead of trusting God, I trusted a false god. That is missing the mark."

"We used to believe that the successful Christian life was about doing good, and not doing sins. But sin is more than a behavior issue; sin results when we forget to trust in the real God for our identity and spiritual strength, or when we place our trust in something other than our Source."

"Not everyone who goes to church is a Christian. A Christian is someone whose life is from God because of Christ. Adhering to a set of doctrines, or excluding those who don't does not make anyone a Christian."

"Spiritual abuse has the effect of making people extremely self-focused, preoccupied with doing things right and keeping happy those who are in places of authority. Recovery begins and continues with keeping our focus on God, what He has done and who we are because of that."