“Dysfunctional” disallowed

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. – Galatians 2:20

“Dysfunctional” is the term we use to describe a family when the members have an unhealthy relationship with each other.

“Dysfunctional” and other psychological terms are rationales we use to push responsibility aside as we make excuses of one kind or another for our personal failures.

Many live with skeletons in the closet that can destroy them if they choose to let them. In every heart there is the potential for going either way. It is like you arrive at a crossroads and even if many of your forebears took the wrong road, you can still choose to take the right one.

Your family’s failures do not automatically spell failure for you. There is no such thing as “bad blood” that is destined to blight your future. The grace of God can take you where He wants you to go. The family bag that often weighs us down is there only because we refuse to let it go and continue to allow the failure of others to destroy us.

Simply put, your failure can’t attributed to your DNA. At some point you have to assume responsibility for your own life and your future and say, “By the grace of God, I choose to be a man or a woman who marches to the beat of a different drummer and lives by a different standard.”

Paul put it so powerfully when he said, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). What Paul wrote is very good news in a bad news world. You can be different, forgiven, redeemed, and find God’s grace and strength to be an example of a changed life.

Used with permission from Guidelines Philippines, Inc. To learn more about Guidelines and the ministry, please write to Box 4000, 1280 Makati City, Philippines or e-mail address [email protected]. You may also visit our website at www.guidelines.org.