Since the fall of man, we have all been born, inherently, with the victim mentality. It's what makes us bicker over meaningless circumstances. It's what makes us fight with each other over fairness in this life. It's what makes us hurt one another through trival mindsets. And it's what makes us forget what is truly important.
As parents, when we see this victim mentality in our kids, it makes us want to pull our hair out trying to fix it. We want them to understand how they hurt others and how to get thier prioirties straight, yet, we often find ourselves in the same circumstances and minsets that we try to teach our kids to not find thmeselves in.
When we get to the story of the bronze snake in Numbers, we find the people of Israel with a victim menatility. Grumbling and complaing in the wilderness. They were growing impatient! They complained that Moses and Aaron were above them. They were victims that had no water. They were victims of the wretched food. They grumbled and complained until God had enough of it! He sent piosonous snakes to the people who were then bitten and many died. The people pleaded with Moses to intercede on thier behalf with God. God didn't immedatley accept this intercession, but eventually He provided a way for them to live. A bronze snake lifted high. Once a person was bitten, if they looked up to the bronze snake, God would save thier life and heal them.
What an odd way to choose healing. It almost seems irrational for this group of grumblers. But this is actually a beauitful picture of God's big plan to bring salvation to all through His son Jesus. Looking up at the bronze snake forced them to take thier eyes off of the consequences of thier sin and gaze upon God's provision for salvation.
When we find our kids, or ourselves, in the position of grumbling and complaining, let's try to remember that there is a consequence to our sin, but instead of living in our victim mentality, we can look to Jesus on high for our salvation.
Blessings~ Rhiannon
Next week: The Promised Land and Jericho