Stockholm syndrome

The other day I wrote about the incompatibility of modern American culture with the teachings of Christ as we see them in Scripture.  The fact is that what we do -- what we in the church do -- is often directly opposed to the clear and unambiguous Word of God.  Far too often, when faced with this dilemma, we choose to turn our backs on Scripture.  Why is that?



Mankind is created in the image of God, though twisted by sin.  Christians, though, are by definition people who have been untwisted, whose sinful natures have been regenerated so that they can choose to conform to God's Word rather than to culture.  So why do we find it so difficult and unappealing to do so?

It's as if we have a species-wide case of Stockholm syndrome.  We've grown accustomed to the very things that enslaved us.  Sin is all we know; it's our addiction and our comfort, and even after we surrender ourselves to Christ we still instinctively turn to it rather than to the Savior who freed us from it.

Let's face it:  sin is fun (for a while).  Sin makes us feel good (for a while).  Sin is dependable and offers at least the illusion that it can be controlled.  Our hearts, conditioned by a lifetime of sin, find God's commands, his promises, and even his grace stifling and uncomfortable.  He tells us not to do the things that bring us pleasure.  He tells us to do things that hurt.  He demands that we relinquish control to him, trusting that he knows better than we do and will do what is best for us even when we can't see it.

Is it any wonder, then, that we so often shrink back?

The fact that something is understandable, though, doesn't mean that it's right.  A very large part of growing as a Christian is learning to turn from the things that formerly satisfied us (for a while) and to the One who can and does satisfy ... not always immediately, and not in the way to which we're accustomed, but perfectly and completely.

It's hard, and it's scary, and it hurts a lot to begin with.  At least that's been my experience.  But it gets easier, and in time it's hard to imagine that we may ever have wanted to cling to our captors rather than the One who freed us from them.

For a wonderfully written picture of all this, read The Great Divorce, by C. S. Lewis.  Don't read it as theology, because Lewis certainly didn't write it that way.  Read it as a clear and deeply insightful look at the hold that sin can have on people.