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| And since he could not be persuaded, we ceased and said, "Let the will of the Lord be done" Acts. 21:14 |
Acts 18:4 And he reasoned in the
synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.
2 Corinthians 5:11 Therefore,
knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to
God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.
Galatians 5:8 This persuasion is
not from him who calls you.
PERSUA'DE, v.t. [L.
persuadeo; per and suadeo, to urge or incite.] (Webster's 1828 dictionary)
1. To influence by argument,
advice, intreaty or expostulation; to draw or incline the will to a
determination by presenting motives to the mind.
2. To convince by argument, or
reasons offered; or to convince by reasons suggested by reflection or
deliberation, or by evidence presented in any manner to the mind.
Persuasion is neither good nor bad
in itself, except for what a person is using to persuade another and to what
they are being persuaded to. Some use
truth or facts well presented to persuade. Christ in many ways, spoke to Israel
and to the crowds to persuade them to see the very truth they were told by the
prophets of the Old Testament. He spoke
clear truth to persuade them of their own salvation through Him. Many who preach the Gospel use good teaching
methods to teach the truth of the Word to try to clearly make it understood and
persuade others to come to that salvation that is by grace alone in Christ
alone. Yet the enemy is hard at work to
pervert that same Gospel and persuade others to turn away from it. He uses manipulation, to twist that
truth to persuade against it, or to pervert it somehow so its power is
nullified.
We must be careful when we seek to
persuade others of God's truth. Many
well-meaning believers who love God with all their hearts have tried to
manipulate, in their flesh, thinking they were doing God's will, and doing it
because of their love for God, but misunderstanding His Word, His will, and His
purpose.
Peter is a good example.
Matthew 16:21-23
(21) From that time Jesus began
to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from
the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day
be raised.
(22) And Peter took him aside and
began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never
happen to you."
(23) But he turned and said to
Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not
setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."
John 18:10-11
(10) Then Simon Peter, having a
sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear.
(The servant's name was Malchus.)
(11) So Jesus said to Peter,
"Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father
has given me?"
I read several definitions and
arguments between the difference of persuasion and manipulation online. Many said the difference is in the
motive. Persuasion is for the good of the
other, but manipulation is for the benefit of oneself. I don't agree with that completely. I see many in Christian circles who have a
motive of loving God and wanting to defend God's Word, but who can also be
manipulative and controlling in the way they do it, thinking truly, like Peter,
that they are doing God's will. At one
time I very fervently tried to persuade people that they could lose their
salvation, thinking I was defending God's Word of truth. I loved God and loved His Word and loved the
truth. I was sure I was right because I studied it thoroughly. But I was wrong. Gradually God showed me through His Word, and
deeper understanding of what it means to be "in Christ" and have
"eternal" life in Him, that I had been wrong. Like Peter, I was going against His Word and
purpose without realizing it.
I see manipulation as someone who
is either convinced of something themselves or perhaps has selfish motives, and
uses whatever tactics he/she can to control others thinking to persuade them,
whether good intentions or evil.
Christians operate in their own flesh to try to do the work of the Holy
Spirit at times. They don't stop at a
persuasive argument according to Scripture for the truth, but they must
manipulate that person emotionally into accepting it.
There are many ways to emotionally or spiritually control others. There are guilt methods, condemning them if
they do not accept your argument, or making them feel like a lesser
Christian if they disagree. There is emotional
manipulation in social media... "unfriending" someone who does not go
along with your manipulation, and going beyond that, putting them down in the
eyes of others, slandering them , telling others if you listen to that person you aren't really
walking with the Lord, or you are deceived, or in some way making them feel
they just are not very spiritual unless they follow your persuasion. We must be careful in "contending for the faith" and "exposing false teaching" that we are not slandering a person's ministry and turning people away from true Biblical teaching that ministers to others for Christ. I've seen this happen, unfortunately because of one area of disagreement.
If we are to persuade others to
follow the truth by the Spirit, we must give up our own manipulative tactics
and controlling ways to persuade them. Most
controlling people don't even know they are controlling. We must learn what our
job is and what the job of the Holy Spirit is.
Our job is to give the Word, in humility and love, realizing we can be
wrong too in some area. Even if we are
right, we must trust the Lord to lead us to give His truth in the right spirit,
at the right time, and to leave it with Him to persuade the heart and mind as
He works in the hearts of others. If we act out of our own fleshly passion
instead of being led by the Spirit we turn more people away from the Word, instead
of drawing them to it.
I've been under manipulating
pastors who use many tactics to control their audience. I've been manipulated
spiritually and emotionally. I've also
been under teachers who persuade by opening up God's Word of truth, and by His
Spirit, enlighten so that it is plain to see.
Those who have been taught by God, know that it was only the Holy Spirit
Who brought the truth to their hearts and opened it up to them to see. If we
are not willing to give room for the Holy Spirit to work in hearts as we speak
truth to them, but try to manipulate them instead into listening, then we are
guilty of acting in our flesh like Peter.
It's bad enough to destroy God's work in the heart of another by our
manipulation when we are right, thereby perhaps hardening another's heart
against the truth when we seek to persuade them of it, but it's even worse when
we are actually wrong in our understanding of God's Word or His will or purpose
and then manipulate others into following us.
I have two things I do now, if I
sense I am being manipulated by another.
If I feel I am sure and know I'm right in a particular teaching and have
been taught by God, but another is just as sure and trying to manipulate my
thinking on it, I take it before God and say, "Lord I believe You taught
me this, but if I have more to learn, please show me. If I'm right please
confirm Your Word to me, and if not, please open my blinded eyes to see more
clearly." Pray it with sincerity. And then go to the Word itself, not just
to your own arguments. Look at the Scriptures and arguments of the other in
light of God's whole Word. Many
arguments come out of Scripture taken out of context mixed with human
reasoning.
If you cannot do that no matter
how right or studied you think you are, you are trusting your own flesh. Sometimes it takes time for growth in a
person's life, including your own, before you are even able to accept certain
concepts.
Proverbs 3:5-7
(5) Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do
not lean on your own understanding.
(6) In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will
make straight your paths.
(7) Be not
wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.
Pride keeps us from seeing our own
blindness. Pride in our own intellect,
or our own understanding of the Word, or in a favorite teacher. Being part of a group that makes us feel a
family or belonging also keeps us blind.
If you are made to feel loved and accepted in a certain group of
persuasion or denomination or cult, it's almost impossible to even allow
yourself to look at anything differently, as it would possibly mean you being
cut off from this family of like-mindedness and the close bonds that are
associated with it. This is how cults
keep their members. The threat of being
cut off or disfellowshipped is very strong.
This can happen on social media as
well. Certain groups of like-mindedness
group together, back each other up in their arguments and usually follow a
leader. Many times they don't have their own local church to attend, but the Internet becomes a replacement of this. They really haven't learned "the body" of the Lord. They gang up with each other
against others and use emotional attacks rather than sticking with Scriptural
discussion. It's an unwritten rule that if you disagree with usually one or two
who rule the persuasion in this group, you'll be bashed, and disfellowshipped
from being a part of them. So you just
go along with whatever they post without challenging whether or not you see
differently in the Word. This is
allowing yourself to be manipulated by flesh, rather than persuaded by the
Word. If you go to the Word and the Lord
shows you otherwise, you need to listen to that, not this person, yet not with
a haughty spirit but in humility and grace and allow God to work. We can rise up with our own manipulation in
the flesh right back also as we see differently and use attack tactics to try
to win the argument. Sometimes we have
to agree to disagree until the Lord brings more light to one or the other, love and bear with one another, pray for one another, and have a humble heart that is teachable,
but not manipulatable. There's a
difference.
There's a time to back out of an
argument, when it becomes one sided and is no longer a discussion. If the other
person is "convinced" and insists you agree, then you have to leave
it and pray God will show you and them more clarification. If you can't do that you aren't relying on
the Holy Spirit but your are trying to control.
Manipulation is just having to control by human tactics.
I'm still learning, but I've gone
through a long, long journey with learning to not allow myself to be
manipulated and not to manipulate others myself. I've learned to see the same tactics over and
over. It's one of the hardest areas I believe, for especially more mature
Christians, and especially if you are passionate about certain teachings. Because they have walked with the Lord a long
time, and learned much and studied much, they feel they have a full grasp on
certain subjects, and they are blind to this area of their flesh and become
prideful. Others see it and back away from
them and they don't understand why. They
see themselves as contending for the faith and just write those off who won't
accept it as not seeing or accepting truth.
But they don't see that others feel the manipulation and feel the flesh
at work and are unable to receive anything from them.
I believe in our day especially,
it is more and more important to learn the schemes of the enemy, the
manipulation tactics in the world, and in the church, in the news, and in
social media. The Bible tells us to be
"sober-minded" and "watchful." We are to be alert to the tactics of the
enemy. Yes, alert to the tactics of
manipulation he even uses in us. Nobody
loved his Lord more than Peter, yet satan tried to work through Peter against
His Lord. If we're not careful he can do
the same with any of us.
(1 Peter 5:5) Likewise, you who
are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with
humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives grace to
the humble."
(1 Peter 5:8) Be sober-minded; be
watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking
someone to devour.
(2 Corinthians 2:11) so that we
would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.
Satan is master of manipulation.
He knows very well our weaknesses and our fleshly flaws and strongholds. He uses them.
This is why we are to never give the enemy a foothold. Our own flesh, unsubmitted to the Lord, is
the enemy's foothold.
Grant us true humility and grace
and most of all, reliance truly on Your Spirit, dear Lord. May we grow in this grace more and more for
Your glory, in Jesus name.
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