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Click on image to go to Author website. "THE RACE IS NOT TO THE SWIFT." Eccl. 9:11

Friday 21 July 2017

The Problem With The Burden Of Gratitude

By Elizabeth Wallace


Many of us have been manipulated into obligations that we did not wish to owe, at a time when we were in need ourselves. Not everyone who goes above and beyond does so for us for the right reasons, and we can be victimized by their motives. They might be trying to obligate us through the burden of gratitude.

Dating is a common method that a person can be victimized in this way. In traditional relationships, the man is the one who buys dinner. All too often a man uses this fact as a way to manipulate the girl into sex acts, or even an ongoing relationship that she might not wish to have had because he makes her feel she somehow owes him something as repayment for money spent on dinners and movies.

Many women have taken to the habit of going Dutch, and paying for their own meals when they first begin getting to know someone. This is excellent advice, even if it leaves some young girls unable to afford dating. Better to avoid indebtedness than to allow themselves to be manipulated into undesired acts as payment for a free meal.

Religious institutions are notorious for using indebtedness for help as a way to get new members. It is perfectly legal for them to require attendance at services as payment for help given to homeless people. In a perfect world, one would be able to get food, clothing, and shelter without being required to embrace a particular religious doctrine, but that is not how most churches approach it.

It is typical even for parents to use indebted obligations to control the behavior of their adult children. The fact is, once a person is over the age of eighteen, parents are not legally able to enforce curfews or other restrictions on them. However, in order to control who they date and what they do, some parents will withhold housing or financial assistance to their children if they fail to behave in whatever way they are trying to force.

Many people who offer help to others do so with negative motives. The people who are most ready to help us are not always those who want to see us succeed. Some people will even offer help just to get an inside peek into our lives so they can spread negative gossip.

Every one of us must evaluate our own intentions when we offer to help a friend. It is important that we do not make such offers with the intention of benefiting in some selfish way ourselves. When we are giving it must be done with a generous heart, and not because we have convinced ourselves that we somehow know what is best for that person.

We all need help at times in our lives, but who we seek to receive that help from must be carefully considered. Sometimes it is best to seek the help of a stranger before we allow friends, coworkers, or exes to become a part of our solution. Not everyone who seems to love us is offering their assistance with a generous heart.




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