“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil, that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.”

There is a legal definition of abuse. I have never felt it to be specific enough and I would expect the law to solid and specific. As a result of that I came up with a layman’s definition of abuse that works well for me.  Abuse is good things gone wrong. It goes back to Isaiah 5:20 and 2 Nephi 15:20 “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil, that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.”  

In my novel the antagonist having been abuse as a child knows nothing of pleasure from good. He has only experienced pleasure from evil, from hidden things in the dark, sweetness that turns bitter the morning after. Although he marries a good woman, gives up drinking and carousing, evil finds him and reawakens those hidden pleasures of the darkness. If we would judge this individual where would it start? Most certainly when the light exposes his dark deeds the law find him guilty. But didn’t it really begin with him being abuse and his abuser being abused and so on. It did, but the law cannot punish those who are dead. That is left for God and their own conscience.

All though the book is a fictionalize story of real events. This morning I concluded that the unrest and stress I have been feeling lately is because of trapped emotions from abuse nowhere near as heinous as those in my novel. I’m talking about the everyday stuff we do like neglecting to smile, or pay attention to, children or spouses in particular, who depends on us for their feelings of well being. In my case I have been chastised for my religious beliefs. While I have every confidence that God lives and the Scriptures are true a certain individual feels judged. I have found myself going out of my way to avoid this individual because he blames his fear of the truth on me.

God will force no man to heaven. That is what agency, a principal I truly love and adhere to, is all about. I have no desire to corner, trap or force my beliefs on this individual in any way shape or form. He must come to the knowledge of the truth in his own time, in his own way if he comes at all.  That is his problem and I accept it. However, what he believes does not change my opinion of his talents, creativity, or worth as a human being. I in fact admire and appreciate him a great deal and that is a good thing pure and simple. Unfortunately, due to some negative experiences from other church members he fears me. No matter what I do he sees good as evil and evil as good and it makes me feel bad that he feels that way. That is where the abuse comes in. He feels that I am abusing him and as a result I have been fighting the good feelings I have for him. I can’t believe I have been so stupid, but it has all been subconscious. This morning me and my conscious and my subconscious had a long talk and both of us feel much better.

I could put in a plug for the book I think it’s called The Body Code. Have a long talk with yourself or find out more by checking out my friend Patty Butts site www.wholesomejunction.com