Codependency

codependency |ˌkōdəˈpendənsē|

noun

excessive emotional or psychological reliance on a partner, typically a partner who requires support due to an illness or addiction.

Here is what the wonderful Wikipedia says (or as I like to call it; "THE GREAT AND POWERFUL OZ"): "Codependency is defined as a psychological condition or a relationship in which a person is controlled or manipulated by another who is affected with a pathological condition (typically narcissism or drug addiction); and in broader terms, it refers to the dependence on the needs of, or control of, another.^[1] It also often involves placing a lower priority on one's own needs, while being excessively preoccupied with the needs of others.^[2] Codependency can occur in any type of relationship, including family, work, friendship, and also romantic, peer or community relationships.^[2] Codependency may also be characterized by denial, low self-esteem, excessive compliance, or control patterns.^[2] Narcissists are considered to be natural magnets for the codependent." -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codependency

Please, stick with me on this blog...I'll try not to be too teachy or bore you.  I discovered this the other day and I think it has some huge implications and some really freeing applications...but it will take some courage.  Read this carefully:
 
John 2:12-16 (NCV)
¹² After this, Jesus went to the town of Capernaum with his mother, brothers, and followers. They stayed there for just a few days. ¹³ When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover Feast, Jesus went to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ In the Temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves. He saw others sitting at tables, exchanging different kinds of money. ¹⁵ Jesus made a whip out of cords and forced all of them, both the sheep and cattle, to leave the Temple. He turned over the tables and scattered the money of those who were exchanging it. ¹⁶ Then he said to those who were selling pigeons, “Take these things out of here! Don’t make my Father’s house a place for buying and selling!”

Who were "others" that Jesus was so pissed at...so much so he made a whip and literally ran them out of the Temple.  Jesus made a passing statement about the "others" by quoting Jeremiah 7:11.  In Jeremiah's passage, he is calling out the religious leaders of that day.  In Hebrew, Jeremiah called the leaders, "perı̂yts", meaning violent unashamed swindlers/murderers.  That's pretty harsh!!  The "others" sitting at the tables, exchanging money for cattle, sheep, and doves, were the priests--the highest position in religion (they were like mini-popes in Catholism).  The priests were like our pastors today in American Christianity.  They were the leaders of that religion, just like pastors are the leaders of most denominations in Christianity...they were the religious celebrities that everybody wanted to get to know, be associated with, and wanted their kids to be like.  

So, what was the big deal about selling animals?  Pay attention very closely...animal sacrifices have been around since the beginning of time in most major religions.  Ancient Judaism wasn't any different.  You can see very early on in Genesis before there was the Mosaic law, which required sacrifices,  Cain and Abel brought sacrifices to God.  The sacrifice that was acceptable was Abel's.  Abel brought a portion of an animal HE RAISED.  That is very important.  As the story continues in the Bible, people were required to raise their own animals to sacrifice, put in the hard work, feed it, care for it, and then bring it to the Temple where they would have to help kill it.  They literally had blood, sweat, and tears in the whole process.  They were directly connected to it!  Some of them lived far away from the Temple and had to make a journey that took several days.  Therefore, they had to carry the sacrifice on their shoulders, hundreds of miles in order to keep it "clean." 

Here the words of a rabbi: "the Hebrew word for "sacrifice" (Korban, le-hakriv) is from the same root as "to come near, to approach. . . . to become closely involved in a relationship with someone." For this is meant to be the essence of the experience which the bearer of the sacrifice undergoes. Indeed, it is unfortunate that no word in the English language can adequately render the idea behind the Hebrew word korban. We allow ourselves to use the word "sacrifice" for lack of a better word, but it is a highly unsuccessful attempt at translation; it could even be called unfortunate. The idea of a sacrifice or offering seems to indicate a gift or present; giving up something of value for another's benefit, or going without something of value yourself, for the benefit of that other.

None of this gift-giving idea is present in the idea of the korban. First of all, it is a word which never carries a connotation of a present or gift, and is used exclusively by the Bible in the context of man's relationship with God. Thus its true meaning can only be grasped through its root...the concept of coming close.

People are under the impression that the whole idea was to bring something precious to God and give it to Him. Their logic goes like this: "In those days, it was an agrarian society, and people raised animals from birth. Naturally they felt very close to these creatures, and were attached to them. So, when they brought them to the Temple altar, they were giving up something for God which meant the most to them."

But if this were the case, and the whole secret of bringing the sacrifice is to give something up to God, then in our own time, when the Holy Temple will be rebuilt, perhaps man has to bring something else altogether to the altar...like your cellular phone, or your microwave, or your VCR machine, or your car?! 

If the definition of the korban is "to come closer," then the goal of the Temple sacrifices is nothing less than the aim of dedicating human life to a higher sphere of awareness...closer to the Creator and the source of all life. The Temple sacrifice is not an idea of giving something up or losing something of value; it strives for nearness to God. For as King David prayed in the book of Psalms (73:28), "But as for me, nearness to God is good"-for the Jew, nearness to God is the truest, the highest, the only conception what goodness really is. Without this aspect to his life, without this Godly relationship which uplifts his physical existence and imbues his life with a sense of connection to the Divine, he feels himself to be like an animal, devoid of that which makes him into a human being: the spark of his Godly soul...without this he feels similar to the animal before him, on the altar. In a sense, what happens to the offering is also taking place within the heart and mind! of he who brings it..."

In essence, the sacrificial system was God's way of creating "self-awareness" with each person.  It also was a way that created "self-reliance, self-esteem, and self confidence" not for the purpose of narcissism, but for the purpose of seeing our true self and what we can do.  The more we see our true selves the more we see the glory of God since we are created in the very image of God.  It was a "drawing near" in many different ways, but especially to the Divine above, and the Divine within.  

The corruption in Jesus' day was that the leaders took this "drawing near" away from people to their true selves, and to God,  and forced them to "draw near" to the leaders.  In other words, their faith was now codependent.  The common people had to buy something from the professional priests in order to worship.  The common people had to purchase something from somebody else, outwardly,  in order to go inward and upward...doesn't make sense!  Commerce was brought into the equation.  This made the religion sick...very sick...like an alcoholic or drug addict who got their money from a parent, relative, or spouse--even though they knew where the money was going but internally it made them feel good because they were dependent on them.  Alcoholics and drug addicts are sick, but so is the one who makes them dependent on them--that is a sickness that is overlooked.  Addicts identity is from the substance they are addicted to and the one's that supply it.  Many times the ones that supply the substance aren't the dealers, but relatives who are too scared to say something.  The heartbreaking thing about addicts is they have no identity. 

Luke 9:25 ASV

For what is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, and lose or forfeit his own self?

The people were unclean (they were addicted), but the professional religious people were sick codependents forcing them to get "their stuff" only from them.  I really hope you are tracking with this blog so far because not a whole lot has changed.  Many churches today are making their parishioners codependent on them through guilt, fear, and sheer unjust power.  Many Christians fail to grow up and mature because they are told to depend on the church for everything--especially when it comes to the Bible.  Most people don't know it because they are told they need get another sermon, another church service, another small group, another Bible study, another missional community, etc, etc, etc.   People are drunk and intoxicated on church so much so they are pissing their pants and wanting the professionals to change it for them.  They pay their leaders to do what they are supposed to do therefore shucking the responsibility on the professionals--AND THEY DO IT...I DID!!  This system at it's worse strips people of their self-confidence and self-esteem.  It is called "welfare" in our society.  People have become so addicted and dependent on the government for housing, food, and insurance that their drive to do anything for themselves is gone...why bother when somebody else can do it for you.  It is the elimination of "self-awareness" and the mystery of "drawing close."  

Christianity, for the most part, has become a welfare society, built on a governmental system dependent on those in power--stripping away the very image of God in the majority of the people.  Do you know who started the welfare system?  ROME!!  It was an attempt to make Caesar God and everybody in his kingdom dependent on him.  Don't believe me...look it up.  It stripped people of their identity and placed their identity in government.  People identify more with a church or organization than they do God...or their identity to God is through the church.  Sounds like Rome...sounds like "selling sheep, cattle, and doves for sacrifices." 

People become numbers...people are no longer people but "giving units."  People are just more bodies filling seats increasing the overall population making the empire more powerful in the minds of others.  People become nameless, faceless, robots cheering in the crowd creating a buzz like in the ancient Roman Coliseums.  People no longer are humans that rationalize, are logical, can create beautiful poetry, question, debate, think philosophically, create, innovate, and believe in their abilities. This is why Jesus blew up.  The image of God was being stripped away from them and the person that attempted to "draw near" was merely a shadow of "others"...the den of thieves. Here is what "evangelism" was in Jesus' day and I would say it holds true today as well: "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are (Matthew 23:15)."  Sons of hell are creating more sons of hell...

People think Jesus came to fight sin because people were so bad, corrupt, and headed to hell.  NO, NO, and NO...he came to fight a system/kingdom that was stripping people of their very identity and a religion where the leaders became gods themselves.  He came against something that appears virtuous, spiritual, and led people to God, but in reality it was creating and rebranding unjust systems that makes a human faceless.  How many churches would you say Jesus would do the same thing in today?  How many people are dependent on their pastors/leaders for "drawing close" to God and becoming aware of who they really are?  Are churches selling something that cheapens the human being and causes a subconscious addiction, fear, and guilt that they can't do it without them?  This passage of scripture has brought up a lot of questions for me, how about you?  I can't idly sit by and continue to let this happen or keep my mouth shut.  If those that follow Christ are now "his body" then maybe its time his body go into some places and "flip some tables".  

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable” -JFK

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.

John F. Kennedy

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/johnfkenn101159.html#Xzblf127yAKCxwxW.99

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.

John F. Kennedy

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/johnfkenn101159.html#Xzblf127yAKCxwxW.99