{"id":3759,"date":"2017-02-19T13:51:44","date_gmt":"2017-02-19T18:51:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayspirituality\/?p=3759"},"modified":"2017-02-19T13:51:44","modified_gmt":"2017-02-19T18:51:44","slug":"wrestling-with-powers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayspirituality\/2017\/02\/wrestling-with-powers.html","title":{"rendered":"Wrestling with powers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Some people are power hungry. They will even use religion to assert their power over others. For example, the Bible has been abused to assert power over women.<\/p>\n<p>History shows that power hungry people do not give up their power. It must be wrested from those those who have it. Women had to fight for voting rights and are still fighting.<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to mental and physical health, we must wrestle with beliefs that hold power over us.<\/p>\n<p>So, I took time to read the Bible and wrest false powers grafted into the Bible to assert control over people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"line\">#1 false belief is that the Bible is the final word of God to be taken literally, whereas in Job 38: 1-4 we read where God pointedly questioned the belief that human beings have a final understanding, &#8220;<span class=\"text Job-38-1\">Then the <span class=\"small-caps\">Lord<\/span> answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: <\/span><span id=\"en-ESV-13796\" class=\"text Job-38-2\"><sup class=\"versenum\">2\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cWho is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? <\/span><span id=\"en-ESV-13797\" class=\"text Job-38-3\"><sup class=\"versenum\">3\u00a0<\/sup>Dress for action like a man;<\/span><span class=\"indent-1\"> <span class=\"text Job-38-3\">I will question you, and you make it known to me. <\/span><\/span><span id=\"en-ESV-13798\" class=\"text Job-38-4\"><sup class=\"versenum\">4\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cWhere were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?<\/span><span class=\"indent-1\"> <span class=\"text Job-38-4\">Tell me, if you have understanding.&#8221;<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"line\">#2 false belief is that religious officials have authority and expertise. But in Proverbs we all are reminded to be humble in our understanding. We read, &#8220;<span id=\"en-ESV-16463\" class=\"text Prov-3-7\">Be not wise in your own eyes;<\/span><span class=\"indent-1\"> <span class=\"text Prov-3-7\">fear the <span class=\"small-caps\">Lord<\/span>, and turn away from evil.<\/span><\/span> <span id=\"en-ESV-16464\" class=\"text Prov-3-8\"><sup class=\"versenum\">8\u00a0<\/sup>It will be healing to your flesh<\/span><span class=\"indent-1\"> <span class=\"text Prov-3-8\">and refreshment to your bones.&#8221;<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>#3 powerless belief is that we follow words instead of the palpable Christ. We read in Matthew 8:22-26, &#8220;<span class=\"text Matt-8-23\">And Jesus said to him, &#8216;<span class=\"woj\">Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.&#8217;<\/span> <sup class=\"versenum\">23\u00a0<\/sup>And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him.<\/span> <span id=\"en-ESV-23370\" class=\"text Matt-8-24\"><sup class=\"versenum\">24\u00a0<\/sup>And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.<\/span> <span id=\"en-ESV-23371\" class=\"text Matt-8-25\"><sup class=\"versenum\">25\u00a0<\/sup>And they went and woke him, saying, &#8216;Save us, Lord; we are perishing.&#8217;<\/span> <span id=\"en-ESV-23372\" class=\"text Matt-8-26\"><sup class=\"versenum\">26\u00a0<\/sup>And he said to them, <span class=\"woj\">\u201cWhy are you afraid, O you of little faith?\u201d<\/span> Then he rose and<a href=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayspirituality\/2014\/06\/dont-be-distracted-away-from-the-power-of-truth.html\"> rebuked<\/a> the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>We can wrestle and beat those thoughts and beliefs that try to control and limit us. We can experience the living Christ-spirit that blesses us with inspiration, wellbeing and joy.<\/p>\n<p>Quoting <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/science-religion-God-narrative-Science\/dp\/0979545455\/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1456142730&amp;sr=1-2&amp;keywords=from+science+and+religion+to+god\">from science &amp; religion to God<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Soul has infinite resources with which to bless us.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Some people are power hungry. They will even use religion to assert their power over others. For example, the Bible has been abused to assert power over women. History shows that power hungry people do not give up their power. It must be wrested from those those who have it. Women had to fight for&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":429,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christian-science"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Wrestling with powers - Everyday Spirituality<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wrestling with powers - Everyday Spirituality\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Some people are power hungry. They will even use religion to assert their power over others. For example, the Bible has been abused to assert power over women. History shows that power hungry people do not give up their power. It must be wrested from those those who have it. Women had to fight for&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayspirituality\/2017\/02\/wrestling-with-powers.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Everyday Spirituality\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-02-19T18:51:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cheryl Petersen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cherylpetersen\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Wrestling with powers - Everyday Spirituality","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Wrestling with powers - Everyday Spirituality","og_description":"Some people are power hungry. They will even use religion to assert their power over others. For example, the Bible has been abused to assert power over women. 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