It's a great temptation to volunteer as a victim. Do you know that we sign up for that job? A man who dined regularly in his favorite restaurant complained about the bread. "It wasn't fair he emphasized that other restaurants served lots of bread. But here he gets only one piece." The man still complained
On his next visit they put a large basket of bread on the table. But he still complained, "The other restaurants give all the bread you can eat," he said.
They decided to be ready for him the next day. They had an enormous loaf of bread prepared. It was 6 feet long and 2 feet wide. 4 people carried the loaf to his table. They plopped it down in front of him. It took up half the table and hung over both sides. The chef stood back, pleased with himself, to see how the customer would react. He looked over the loaf and commented, "So, we're back to one piece again, are we?"
Like this man, we volunteer to be victims, but in more subtle ways. We believe life is unfair, people are untrustworthy, and we are getting a bad shake. We think everyone should know just how terrible things are and we feel obliged to tell them. The problem is, life sometimes is unfair and we can be victimized. But greater truth is, people can decide whether they are victims or victors. Thy can feel helpless or miserable, or they can try to feel strong. Happy people have learned that they cannot always control their circumstances, but they can often control how they respond.
"Nay, in all these things we more more than conquerors through Him that loved us." Romans 8:30