Sexual Harassment and The Redoubtable (Fearful) Mr. Perfect

The classic novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde is about a supremely self-centered individual who made a wish that a painted portrait of himself would age and he would not.  The disturbing wish was granted and he spent his timeless youth in the pursuit of ruinous sensual indulgence.

Those who saw him could not believe the many sordid tales of his moral abandon and sexual mischief because they believed that such behavior would be written upon the face of such an individual.  Because Dorian Gray had a very handsome face and was well spoken it was believed that he would not be involved in such dark deeds. 

The Bible states: ”Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).”

It is the outward appearance that is so very important in families wherein childhood sexual abuse has been or is a reality.   Indeed, much time is invested in the creation and cultivation of the fiction of the perfect family. 

Everyone has a role to play.  The roles are carefully contrived in order to protect the unthinkable milieu of childhood sexual abuse within the home. 

‘Mr. Perfect’ is usually the autocratic head of such a dysfunctional family unit.  He orchestrates the roles that each family member must play in order to conceal his real persona from the outside world.

‘Mr. Perfect’ cultivates a family structure wherein secrets, terrible and unspeakable secrets prevail because if they were revealed the family’s unnatural and mocking lies would be open to the world.  Please note that all family members are not necessarily neither aware nor complicit in the sexual abuse of a child.  Complex social intra-familial arrangements are involved. 

This is the world of the pedophile.  It is a world of lies, secrets, and fear.  Fear is at the center of this family unit.  The fear of being found out is well-managed in order to dismiss its possibility and to continue the torture of the child sexual prey.

The burden of carrying the unspeakable secrets of such families is usually given to the one who is also the victim –prey of childhood sexual abuse.  She is the living sacrifice in the hellish world of ‘Mr. Perfect’.

‘Mr. Perfect’ is usually a family member such as a father, or step-father or other close male figure.  He is a trusted authority figure who is attracted to the sexual exploitation of children.  There is a malevolent (evil) disconnection within him that motivates him to do the unthinkable, and blame his acts upon his victim-prey.  When caught he will say that the child-prey seduced him or that the child led him into a sexual relationship.

The causes of the unspeakable acts of ‘Mr. Perfect’ are always outside of himself.  He is never worthy of blame for his evil folly.  He is the real victim. (Read “The People of the Lie” by Scott M. Peck for a powerful discussion on the inability of the evil to see, understand, or take responsibility for the impact of their behavior).

The child-victim who has been inducted into the world of ‘Mr. Perfect’ will find herself a captive.  She will find herself in physical and psychological turmoil under the duress of his controlling anger.  She dare not arouse his anger.  She is therefore kept in a state of hyper-arousal anxiety trying to anticipate his moods and attitude toward her, and the next sexual attack. 

Imagine her young world if you will; a child who had foisted upon her young life the abnormal sexual demands of an adult authority figure. Her young life is built around the anxiety of his angry disapproval.   She will carry this attitude into her adult life when she is no longer in the immediate environment of the abuse.

The family of ‘Mr. Perfect’ callously ignores the intense psycho-dynamic factors that are involved within its structure of systemic exploitation; but they understand the cost of not hiding ‘Mr. Perfect’, community shame, embarrassment, social stigma and legal accountability.

The Iesous states emphatically “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea (Matt.18:6).”   

Dear victim of childhood sexual abuse, God loves you and he has a plan for your life.  Receive Jesus Christ as your Savior.   He knows the enormous devastation that childhood sexual abuse can do.  He knows every detail of what happened to you and who did the abuse and how you feel inside as a result of it.  He knows how you have tried to make sense of what happened.  He knows that you have blamed yourself and that you believe that you have some flaw or that you are a bad person.

You need Iesous to free you from the lies of the evil world of ‘Mr. Perfect’.  Call upon the name of Jesus and receive him as your Savior today.  “For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. 3:23).”

The Psycho-Somatic Impact of Sexual Abuse

The physician-theologian Luke recorded a very extraordinary narrative in chapter 13:10-13 of his Gospel document.  The narrative report begins by stating that Jesus had been teaching in a synagogue on a Sabbath day.  It was both his custom, and practice to teach on the Sabbath day.

Luke records that while Jesus was teaching, a woman appeared in the synagogue that had a very interesting medico-spiritual condition.  She had a Spirit of infirmity (weakness) that had been with her for eighteen years; and this Spirit of infirmity  had caused her to have a chronic condition that made her “bowed together”.  She was bent over in two. The Greek word here is‘sugkupto’ and it means to be completely overcome.  Luke further adds that as a result of ‘sugkupto’ she could not or was not able to unbend or lift up.

Luke states that when Jesus saw her he called to her and said unto her, ‘Woman you are loosed of your infirmity” and then he laid hands upon her and she immediately became upright and glorified God.

There are three elements or points if you will that must be noticed:  1) She was within the synagogue on the Sabbath when Jesus was teaching.  She was in the right place and at the right time.  She was in the place where the Word of God was being taught by God the Word.  2) He saw her.  He saw her with complete accurate intuitive perception.  He observed her unusual condition.  He saw her as a unique person.  He saw her with his perfect understanding of the human condition, and that her condition was chronic and old.  3) He knew that the Spirit of infirmity had taken control of her life.  He knew that she had learned to live within the oppressive sphere of her condition.  He knew that this woman had come to identify herself with her condition.  He could see the crushing reality that controlled her life.

Jesus called to the woman.  Imagine the impact of his call to her.  Please note that He was not ashamed of her condition. Jesus calls those who are chronically under a spirit of weakness that seeks to destroy their lives.  Such are the lives of those who have been under a spirit of infirmity from childhood sexual abuse.  The victims of childhood sexual abuse oftentimes feel completely overcome by the unspeakable acts that they were forced to suffer.  The victim of childhood sexual abuse has been completely overcome by the spirit of infirmity to such an extent that she too may identify herself with the infirmity which may also be chronic.  It is the enforced secrecy of the abusive events that perpetuates their longevity.  It is the fear of unimaginable retaliation that keeps the child-victim from telling an authority figure.  She is told that no one would believe her if she told of the abusive events.  She is therefore forced into a world of disconnection from self and others; a world where trust of oneself and the world has been shattered.

The therapeutic intervention of Jesus centered upon a creative speech act that sets her free immediately.  Jesus said to her, “Woman, you are loosed of your spirit of infirmity!”  Notice, he identified her by gender and by her new condition.  “You are” takes her out of the past and places her within the liberating sphere of the powerful Word of God in the present. Victims of childhood sexual abuse oftentimes live in the past within the sphere of the present.  This woman had lived in her condition for eighteen years.

“You are” is an emphatic statement that the past has been forever suspended and that what was has been completely overcome by the powerful reality of her new condition.  She was loosed of her condition.  To be loosed means that one who was formally bound has been set free.  God himself had loosed her out from the stranglehold of the oppressive spirit of infirmity.  The powerful Jesus can still set free those who feel or believe that they are worthless or too bad to be helped.  He is not ashamed of you!

Dear ones, who have suffered childhood sexual abuse, give that shame that you have come to live with to the powerful Jesus.

“Woman, you are loosed” of your condition is an open invitation from the powerful Jesus to any woman, girl, or child who has been or is now a victim of childhood sexual abuse.  Remember, it wasn’t your fault and you did not deserve the abuse.  You did nothing to cause such horrible deeds.

For more information about Dr. Josiah Rich and his teaching ministry, please visit his website.

Determined Faith

"And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a demon.  but he answered her not a word."  Matt. 15:22-23a


The word for 'faith' in the Greek New Testament is 'pistis.'  Pistis is a noun of action and the narrative above is about an indigenous woman who sought an audience with the Iesous because her daughter was gravely ill.

Love compelled her to action.  Her daughter was suffering in a terrible manner.  Her daughter's condition seemed hopeless.  Obviously the reputation of the Iesous had come to her.  Therefore, in stabbing grief she dared to go to the One whom she believed could save her daughter from grievous torment.

She determined in her heart to get her child healed.  She moved out by faith expecting a resounding 'Yes' to her request for her daughter's deliverance.  She approached the Iesous with a respectful  grief laden 'Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed..."  But he answered her not a word.

How are we to understand this last sentence?  Why does he seemingly turn a deaf hear to the plaintive request of the woman? And not only does he not respond to her initial request but the disciples also begged him to send her away.

This situation was an unforeseen obstacle in the woman's faith journey on behalf of her daughter. Who would ever expect to encounter rejection and curt dismissal on a mission of faith?  What would she do?  Would she walk away shaken bewildered and angry such insensitivity to her daughter's desperate condition?  Would she walk away sulking over her rejection due to her cultural identity as a woman of Canaan?

Here is her test. Can she overcome the temptation to make the 'Silence of God' concerning her request about her?  Can she pierce through the veil of seeming rejection and silence by faith or does she give up and go away?

The Iesous added the stinging, "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel" to her situation. This is all too much. The too-much-ness should have persuaded her to stay her grandiose scheme of faith.
Surely now, she could give up with honor.  She had done her best.  She could feel good about that at least. But she does not give up.  She tries again to persuade the Iesous to help her.  He stonewalls her again with, "It is not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs."

This statement should have wounded her and caused her to finally realize that her journey was over.  Again she resisted the temptation to be seduced into shame, self-pity and self-victimization.  Her reply to his words reveal a heart stabilized by faith that would not be denied by circumstantial obstacles.

Her reply is, "Truth, Lords: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their mater's table."  She owns his words as she has owned from the beginning what he alone could do.  From the beginning she knew him to be her only help and answer to her situation.

Her faith was not smoothly formulaic - it never is.  She braved the obstacles meant to expose the faith-content of her heart.  She was indeed exposed before God and man but not to be held up for mockery but for a model of faith that braved the obstacles to get a blessing from the Iesous.

The Iesous thundered to her and for the ages the end of the 'Silence of God' and an everlasting tribute to her, "O, woman, great if thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt."  And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

It is time for me to observe respectful silence before the such-ness of her faith.  So be it (Amen).

For more information about Dr. Josiah Rich and his teaching ministry please visit his website.

Crisis of Faith: A Critical Diagnostic Assessment by Iesous

But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy. They came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, Master, we perish.  Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.  And he said unto them, "Where is your faith?"  Luke 8:23-25


The disciples needed to know what the Iesous already knew about them collectively - they lacked substantive faith.  Yes, he could have talked to them about their lack of faith in Theos, and it would have been merely an intellectual discussion.

The Iesous chose a powerful teaching tool that would illustrate their lack of faith and the emptiness of mere discussion.  He took them out upon the Sea of Galilee.  This was a familiar experience to most, if not all of them.  This adventure, however, would be different because their perception of themselves and the Iesous would be challenged by an existential crisis.

They were collectively seized by the icy reality of impending death by drowning in an angry sea.  The howling wind forced upon them the recognition of its ability to break apart the boat and the waves of the sea hammered at the boat with a rhythmic insistence portending doom.

Fear won over them, through seemingly deadly and overwhelming circumstances.  The thin veil of mere talk fled their fear enslaved hearts.  The compelling situation demanded that they go to the sleeping One - the Iesous who is not alarmed by the situation.  He is at peace.  He is asleep on the steersman leather cushion.

They do not realize that the real threat to their lives is not outside of themselves but on the inside.  Their hearts lacked faith in Theos.  Notice that they reacted to their circumstances with 'fear and trembling.'  They did not have Tillich's 'Courage to Be.'

They were being pushed to the boundaries of themselves or to the edge of reason and beyond.  They needed to experience the pale unreality of reason and explanation to 'explain' or account for the intrinsic power of God in all things.

They called upon the sleeping Iesous to awake with a frenzied Master, Master we perish.  The immediate situation demanded brevity and economy of words.  Did the 'we perish' included the Iesous too?

The Iesous stood up and immediately arrested the perceived threat of the storm and then he confronted the storm within their hearts with compassionate diagnostic candor:  "Where is your faith?"

Here is a type of self-examination that we must all constantly undertake.  This is a spiritual self-examination that challenges us to a species of mindfulness that will require the humility that knows that without faith it is impossible to please God.

If you lack faith today you may ask Him to grant faith to you which is an anchor of the soul.

For more information about Dr. Josiah Rich and his teaching ministry, please visit his website.

The Action of Faith

Elisha replied to her, "How can I help you? tell me, what do you have in your house?"  "Your servant has nothing there at all," she said, "except a little oil."  II Kgs. 4:2


Perhaps you may remember that the prophet Elisha was the successor of the great prophet Elijah.  Elisha too however was a great prophet in his own right.  Elisha was a man of extraordinary faith who could see the power of God at work in the affairs of everyday life.  Indeed, that was the essence of his greatness.

For Elisha, faith was not found in what one said about faith.  Faith was based in action. Action was evidence of faith and nothing else.

Our narrative is about a woman who had been the wife of a man 'from the company of the prophets.'  The man was now dead and his poor widow had been set upon by her late husband's creditor.  The creditor must be paid or he would take the widow's two sons as slaves for the debt.  The distressed widow took her situation to Elisha.

When she meets Elisha the first thing that he said to her was not, "How are you this fine day?"  She cries out to him and told him her distressing story.  There was an urgency in her tone of voice that resonated with Elisha.  He therefore asks her how he could help her.

He was not condescending and nor was he patronizing to her.  He had genuine concern for her and noted the compelling agony of her heart.  Still he asked her how could he assist her?  Curiously, he said to her, "What do you have in your house?"

What did that have to do with her situation?  Why did he need to know that?  Her life was coming apart and she was being devoured by fear and anxiety before him  How could he ask about what was in her house?

She said, "Nothing...except a little oil."

He told her to go around and ask all her neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for a few.  "Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons.  Pour the oil into the jars, as each is filled, put to one side.  She kept pouring until all the available jars were filled.

She went and told Elisha of the extra-normal event of the filling of the jars, and he instructed her further to go, sell, and pay your debt.  She did so and the remaining money provided an income for she and her family.

My friend, faith is a verb in the Scriptures.  It is demonstrated in what we do.  The widow believed the words of the prophet.

God helps those who believe His Word.

For more information about Dr. Josiah Rich and his teaching ministry, please visit his website.

Creative Dimension of Adversity

"That no man should be moved by these afflictions:  for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto." I Thess. 3:3


One of the most powerful factors in the appropriate psycho-social development of individuals is the ability to experience and negotiate personal adversity.

This highly important aspect of human growth and development was the subject of a study conducted by Mark D. Seery of the University of Buffalo and E. Alison Holman and Roxane Cohen Silver of the University of California at Irvine, California.

The title of their study is compellingly titled:

"Whatever Does Not Kill Us:  Cumulative Lifetime Adversity, Vulnerability, and Resilience"

A summary of their article states:  "Exposure to adverse life events typically predicts subsequent negative effects on mental health and well-being, such that more adversity predicts worse outcomes.  However, adverse experiences may also foster subsequent resilience, with resulting advantages for mental health and well-being."

What is so highly impressive about this article is the subject matter of course and the fact that it has taken up a theme that has been the subject of theological discussion for centuries.  For instance in the 1st century A.D. the brilliant intellect Paul of Tarsus wrote the following words to a group of individuals who were suffering adversity for their faith-confession:  "...that no one be moved by these afflictions."

It is interesting that Paul did not seek to overthrow their collective experience of adversity by telling them that their experience was atypical.  On the contrary he understood the importance of adversity and encouraged them to not be shaken by it.

The researchers in our study further noted:  "In a multi-year longitudinal study of a national sample, people with a history of some lifetime adversity reported better mental health and well-being outcomes than not only people with a high history of adversity, but also than people with no history of adversity.  

Specifically...a history of some but nonzero lifetime adversity predicted relatively lower global distress, lower self-rated functional impairment, fewer post-traumatic stress symptoms, and higher life satisfaction over time.  Furthermore, people with some prior lifetime adversity were the least affected by recent adverse events.

Paul wanted people to turn resolutely in a certain direction.  He wanted them to know that spiritual power is available to them through the Iesous that would enable them to endure adversity.

My friend, adversity is sure to come. Or maybe it has come to you.  "It came to pass" was the way one brother spoke of adversity.  "It came to pass" but "it did not come to stay."

For more information about Dr. Josiah Rich and his teaching ministry, please visit his website.

Be Filled with the Knowledge of His Will, Part II

Paul continues his assault upon the false teachers by bypassing a direct point by point repudiation of their doctrines and focusing on the spiritual weapons that the saints needed for this conflict.  The saints needed the Word beyond mere words.  Paul knew that if he used conciliatory rhetoric the faith of the saints would disintegrate.

Lesser intellects think that the greatest achievement in the world is to have both sides agree to the sensible logic of their seemingly well-reasoned position.  Paul knew this self-congratulatory position to be a fallacy.  The saints of God deserve more from its leadership.  But the Church has been overrun by what C. S. Lewis called 'Men Without Chests."  Persons who believe that they are of greater intellectual capacity because they believe themselves so.

Paul knew that the knowledge of his will must be conjoined with the necessary 'all wisdom and spiritual understanding.'  Paul realized that there are times when the 'Cure of Soul' is not confined to the everyday problems of living.  He knew that there were times when subversive forces think to undo us by cunning trickery and deceit.

And, if we are enfeebled by the mediocrity of weak teaching about the person of the Iesous we take the field of spiritual battle under- prepared and ill-equipped.  We need the knowledge of his will in order to super-know how to conduct our lives.  It is this type of knowledge that creates boldness and spiritual confidence in the saints.  Without this type of deep and rich awareness we are prone to go adrift because we have no anchor of the soul.

Spiritual understanding is the incomparable mind of Iesous directing the saints through the Spirit.  Spiritual understanding is critical insight in how to evaluate people, things, and circumstances.  Notice that it is the critical faculty that gives intense perception into all areas of life.

The saints did not need a handbook on apologetics they needed powerful teaching to help them to unlock the treasures of super-rich Grace in the person of the Iesous.  Please carefully note that Paul said to these saints that prayer on their behalf with the specific request that they might be filled with epignosis was his appeal to Theos.

Our next installment will deal with a further reason for Paul's prayer imperative on their behalf.

For more information about Dr. Josiah Rich and his teaching ministry, please visit his website.