Those who are always bringing up their feelings act as though they believe their feelings are facts. They think this: "If I felt hurt or threatened then you must have done something wrong." Or even worse; "If I felt hurt or threatened you are a bad person."
We see this all the time among those who have very high opinions of their own importance. When someone operates this way on a regular basis, diminishing the experiences of others to elevate self, we know we have encountered a narcissist.
No one is perfect and may slip into this once or twice but are not using it continually and even express sorrow that they were controlling.
However, I have known people who continually act this way in nearly every encounter with them.
These people cannot stand someone else's happiness or joy and must do something to diminish the joy.
When we live in a entire culture of this narcissistic mentality we will see the signs everywhere. Sadly we begin to see this behavior as normal, after all nearly everyone is acting this way.
This is why I believe our Lord told us to "come out from among them." He also said; "bad company corrupts good habits."
Those we choose to spend time with will influence our responses to life, even if in unnoticeable ways. Narcissist goad their target into ungodly responses and then accuse us of the ungodly response. It is best to stay away from, if at all possible, those who use these tactics all the time. If we cannot get away from them entirely we must remain silent without response or emotion. Allow them to only see themselves without enabling from us in our responses.
The narcissist feeds on any kind of response at all. If you are happy they will goad a little more attempting to make you unhappy. If you are sad they will feel glee that they have made you miserable. Do not suck into your soul anything they do or say, simply walk away and avoid them.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 "3 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.
Get used to this brothers and sisters but learn the ways to deal with it. We are living in "perilous times", things will get worse but we have a great hope. That hope is the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to remove His church. See you at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb if not before. Hallelujah!
Susan Frances said this:
"Anybody who lives by their FEELINGS might as well just get a rubber stamp that says "DESTROYED" and stamp it across their life."
