Family Cults

Cults mix truths and untruths. 

There is usually a central figure, other than God, who is to be revered and feared. 

Some level of secrecy is involved, especially about the leader’s failings, and the leader's abuse of others.

 
Here is a secret:

While most people think of cults only as weird religious factions, but...

Outside of Heaven:

     every relationship, 

     every family,

     every organization, 

     every human conglomeration 

has some level of impurity and cult-ish-ness.

 

So, you too are mingled in some level of impurity in different aspects of your life. 

And this is also true of your family.

 
Any family that isn’t safe for kids...is a cult family, 

because the emphasis centers around the desires of one person, usually one adult. 

But there is also false sense of cultism, where children view their parents as cultish because of their reverence for God, 

which makes kids feel left out, when the kids want to be the center of the parents’ focus.  

And here’s where things get tough.
Adults are supposed to love God more than they love any human, even their own children. 

Even though we spend more time doing things for family than for God, 

God calls on each of us to make Him our First Love, and He doesn’t apologize for it.

 
Jesus said, in Matthew 10: 37:   

 
But what about those children whose parents were religious and ogres at the same? And yes, these people exist.
If the virgin birth, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ as part of the Holy Trinity isn’t the driving truth of your parents’ religion, 

then your parents are in a religious cult. Children raised in religious cults can’t expect happy childhoods.

 
What if your parents’ religion was Christ-centered, but you still feel mis-treated?

 
1) Not everyone that uses the name of Jesus walks in the kindness of Christ. Certainly, none of us do it perfectly. 

Too many adults see God as a slave-owning slave-driver, and they see themselves as an Uncle Tom in that chain of command. 

Little love, lots of rules.

 
2) Some parents are scared for their children, should they be disobedient toward God, and work hard to keep their kids from sinning. 

I was this way. I didn’t want my kids to learn bad habits that they would have to repent of later. 

I limited their social lives to save them from the social and spiritual poisons that seem to enthrall naive young people. 

While this can create resentment, all families have to do this to keep their kids safe. 

But in a religious home, the kids often blame the religion, which is unfortunate. 

Imagine taking a family fishing. You’re ready to get in your boat and put out onto the lake, 

when the clouds roll in and you see lightning on the horizon. 

You tell the kids they can’t go fishing. One child is mad, and other disappointed, the third kid didn’t want to spend the day in the boat anyway. 

You have to let the two unhappy kids be unhappy, even if they don’t understand the danger of lightening on the lake. 

That’s life.
This is the reason the phrase: “Because I’m the parent and I said so!” was invented.

 
3) Some parents are narcissists, looking for admiration, and use the Gospel to try to get it. 

These people think they are doing God a favor by joining the church. 

They think other church members should regularly acknowledge their value and sacrifice. 

They also think that when they die, they will get the same welcoming committee that Jesus got when He rose from the dead. 

They are too conceited to understand that it is God’s mercy, not God’s needs, that prompted God to offer them salvation. 

Their adult children need to approach God as Newbies, diving into the New Testament with a trustworthy mentor,

to find the truth of who God really is, then deciding if they are willing to submit to Him.

Not only is it OK to assess your parents' motivations, but it is also very healthy.