for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. – 1 John 5:4-5 (NIV)
Are you a victor or a victim? It’s a simple question and depending on your circumstances, it is either a hard or easy one to answer.
When you look at the two words, you will see that the only difference between them is the last two letters. It is these last two letters that makes one word positive and the other negative. Whether we are victor or victim depends on two things as well.
Basically, for a victim it is all about me and what I feel. For those who continually stay in victim mode, they are there for several reasons. Some like the sympathy they get. Others feel so helpless that they continue to play the victim and hope that someone else will fix things. They always look inwards and focus too much on what they feel to the point that they don’t want to do anything. Being a victim becomes a way of life.
Victims can’t see a solution to their problems. They are blind to the advice others give them because they would rather stay where they are. As they continue to be a victim, they begin to feel negative about the world and helpless that they can’t change things. Their feelings and thoughts are so self-centred that it clouds their reasoning. Even similar problems others are having feel like it is happening to them, and they become hopeless.
Victors, on the other hand, know that they can’t fix every problem, but they can fix the way they handle it. For the victor, the secret to success is to change their focus. Instead of looking inwards, they look out to two things – Jesus and the hope that He brings.
Even to non-Christians, hope is the thing that makes everything a positive. If you have no hope, then you have nothing. Victims have very little or no hope. They don’t see a way out of their situation. The victor looks for and sees hope every time they are overwhelmed or affected by situations that are negative. For a short time, they may feel like a victim, but they are never the victim because they start looking for a way out as soon as they can. A victor makes the decision to stop being a victim knowing that there they may know that there is no-one to help.
For a Christian, when they make the decision to stop being the victim, they look for the other thing that makes being a victor a positive. Jesus is the ultimate victor, and He made the decision early on that He would be a victor. Even when there were times, He could have easily played the victim and depend on others to get Him out, He chose the path of victory. Everything, He did and said showed that He wasn’t going to stop hoping that He would overcome the world one day
Jesus can’t make you decide whether you want to be a victor or victim as it is part of the free will, He has given but He will help once you have chosen the path of victory. If you decide to stay the victim, then Jesus will be there waiting and hoping (and maybe even nudging you) until you do. Jesus wants us all to be victors and to experience the hope He had. When we accept that we are a victor, there will always be a way out and you will overcome.
Victor or victim? The choice is yours.
Originally published April 2019