First Baptist Church of Herndon

Your Personal Witch-Hunt

Linda Soller | Oct 23, 2017

As strange as it seems, I think most people are on a constant witch-hunt. Our motivations may vary, but so often I hear people talk about who is to blame for this or that. On a national level, we see it all the time in politics. It’s part of the core of political behavior. It’s always the other person’s fault or failure, that’s why you hear – “you should vote for me”. But witch-hunts are common in other parts of our life as well. I will never forget when my father told me of a mother who fussed at him, a high school health teacher, for not teaching her child table manners in health class. My dad said it was an area generally taught at home. She would have none of it. Her next thought was – if not you, how about the cafeteria workers? You can’t make this stuff up. People are fast to blame something or someone for their problems.

This brings me to my question for today. What if you are the witch? Take a minute and give it some thought… What if it isn’t your liberal neighbor or conservative in-laws? What if your weight issues have nothing to do with the lousy selections in the office vending machine and everything to do with you making choices? These are not comfortable thoughts. In our stressful demanding world, many of us just want to blame something or someone so we don’t have to carry around the burden on our own shoulders. It may even seem harmless at the time.

Sadly, I don’t see the witch-hunt mentality going anywhere anytime soon. I do think we can all get help with this problem, assuming you have this problem and it’s not just my imagination. God is always there. He understands our bad choices. He knows how tempting it can be to cast doubt on others when the problem is with us. He forgives when we point fingers, and listens when we seek guidance. He can help you stand strong when you face the real witch, even when your personal witch-hunt leads you to a mirror.

Have a great week!  :o) Linda