As I look around the world today, I see an overabundance of people with a victim mentality. Everything that happens to them is proof that they’re a victim of this, a victim of that, and a victim of another thing. They can never succeed in life because all these people and circumstances keep them from ever “making it.” Or so they say.
While some would say the victim mentality is an outgrowth of entitlement – which is true – I’d also suggest it comes from a deep-rooted sense of self-righteousness. When you are self-righteous, you believe you are right. You are in the right. You made the right choice, did the right thing, are right; therefore, everyone should treat you as though you are right. If they question you or your motives, it’s a personal affront to your rightness.
A victim mentality often says, “I’m right; it’s all of these things I can’t control that are forcing me into these situations.” And often, there are things outside of the victim’s control. But the victim still has the choice about how to respond, and often they have also made choices that brought them to this place, even if no one could have seen it coming. The personal affront of people not recognizing a self-righteous person’s “right-ness” can cause the victim to see themselves as a persecuted person rather than an individual dealing with some issues.
So how can we let go of the self-righteousness that threatens to make us victims instead of overcomers? (Romans 8:37) The first step is to let go of being right all the time. Yes, we all make mistakes. Sure, sometimes we are right when others insist we are wrong or when others treat us in ways we don’t deserve. But remember Jesus? He “emptied himself by taking on the form of a servant” and “did not come to be served, but to serve” (Philippians 2:7, Matthew 20:28). Serving others with joy, not trying to maintain our righteousness in the eyes of others (let God do that), and seeing ourselves the way God sees us – as His well-loved children – are all keys to overcome self-righteousness that leads to victimhood.
