Back when I was in church, everything had grave consequences. Masturbating had immense consequences, having a “wrong opinion” and wearing certain clothes had immense consequences, even thinking outside of church’s beliefs had immense consequences.
We were to ask for permission for everything ; because we were scared of the consequences. We had to ask God if we could date this person or else we would slowly loose our salvation in “the world”. We were scared of upsetting God and loosing His favor.
But that attitude of fear clearly contradicts the Word of God saying that God gives us a spirit of love, not of fear and torment. It really gets to show how little the church has to do with Jesus’ words and His teachings. They are about control and setting others in bondage for the evil spirits behind them.
This catastrophizing mindset has to be challenged, as God gave each of us a freewill and common sense designed to be used fully and voluntarily submitted to Him. Not forced into doing or not doing something by coercion and fear.
If you have been in church, ask yourself : am I constantly asking for permission ? Do I secretly fear a lot because I expect dire consequences for my actions ? Are these consequences proportionate to what was done (ex. Lying then being confronted for it instead of thinking that random bad things happening are God punishing you) ?
If you answered “no” to that last question, then you might be catastrophizing based on the preaching of Hell and condemnation that the church regularly feeds its followers.
We can help you examine and reject those lies to be free and rational. Contact us via e-mail at deliverancecounseling@yahoo.com or by telephone at 1-888-818-1117.
Spiritual Warfare Library of PSM 