FEUDALISM: You have two cows. Your lord takes some of the milk.
PURE SOCIALISM: You have two cows. The government takes them and puts them in a barn with everyone else’s cows. You have to take care of all of the cows. The government gives you as much milk as you need.
BUREAUCRATIC SOCIALISM: You have two cows. The government takes them and put them in a barn with everyone else’s cows. They are cared for by ex-chicken farmers. You have to take care of the chickens the government took from the chicken farmers. The government gives you as much milk and eggs as the regulations say you need.
FASCISM: You have two cows. The government takes both, hires you to take care of them and sells you the milk.
PURE COMMUNISM: You have two cows. Your neighbors help you take care of them, and you all share the milk.
RUSSIAN COMMUNISM: You have two cows. You have to take care of them, but the government takes all the milk.
CAMBODIAN COMMUNISM: You have two cows. The government takes both of them and shoots you.
DICTATORSHIP: You have two cows. The government takes both and drafts you.
PURE DEMOCRACY: You have two cows. Your neighbors decide who gets the milk.
REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY: You have two cows. Your neighbors pick someone to tell you who gets the milk.
BUREAUCRACY: You have two cows. At first the government regulates what you can feed them and when you can milk them. Then it pays you not to milk them. Then it takes both, shoots one, milks the other and pours the milk down the drain. Then it requires you to fill out forms accounting for the missing cows.
PURE ANARCHY: You have two cows. Either you sell the milk at a fair price or your neighbors try to take the cows and kill you.
LIBERTARIAN/ANARCHO-CAPITALISM: You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull.
SURREALISM: You have two giraffes. The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.
One of my favorite cities is Chicago, IL. I like its bustle and its different neighborhoods. I came across this photo on National Geographic and wanted to share it with you.
I think what it does is put you into a completely different viewpoint. Seeing the city with a whole different set of eyes. So much of walking out our spiritual lives is vision, seeing things from His perspective.
“Being a borderline feels like eternal hell. Nothing less. Pain, anger, confusion, hurt, never knowing how I’m gonna feel from one minute to the next. Hurting because I hurt those who I love. Feeling misunderstood. Analyzing everything. Nothing gives me pleasure. Once in a great while I will get “too happy” and then anxious because of that. Then I self-medicate with alcohol. Then I physically hurt myself. Then I feel guilty because of that. Shame. Wanting to die but not being able to kill myself because I’d feel too much guilt for those I’d hurt, and then feeling angry about that so I cut myself or O.D. to make all the feelings go away. Stress!”
Therapists use a book called “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual” (DSM) to make mental health diagnoses. They’ve outlined nine traits that borderlines seem to have in common; the presence of five or more of them may indicate BPD. However, please note the following: Everyone has all these traits to a certain extent. Especially teenagers. These traits must be long-standing (lasting years) and persistent. And they must be intense.
Be very careful about diagnosing yourself or others. In fact, don’t do it. Top researchers guide patients through several days of testing before they make a diagnosis. Don’t make your own diagnosis on the basis of a WWW site or a book!
Many people who have BPD also have other concerns, such as depression, eating disorders, substance abuse — even multiple personality disorder or attention deficit disorder. It can be difficult to isolate what is BPD and what might be something else. Again, you need to talk to a qualified professional.
DSM-IV Definition of BPD
A pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:
Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment. Note: Do not include suicidal or self-mutilating behavior covered in (5).
A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation. This is called “splitting.” Following is a definition of splitting from the book “I Hate You, Don’t Leave Me” by Jerry Kreisman, M.D. From page 10:
“The world of a BP, like that of a child, is split into heroes and villains. A child emotionally, the BP cannot tolerate human inconsistencies and ambiguities; he cannot reconcile good and bad qualities into a constant coherent understanding of another person. At any particular moment, one is either Good or EVIL. There is no in-between; no gray area….people are idolized one day; totally devalued and dismissed the next.”
“Normal people are ambivalent and can experience two contradictory states at one time; BPs shift back and forth, entirely unaware of one feeling state while in the other. When the idealized person finally disappoints (as we all do, sooner or later) the borderline must drastically restructure his one-dimensional conceptionalization. Either the idol is banished to the dungeon, or the borderline banishes himself in other to preserve the all-good image of the other person.”
“Splitting is intended to shield the BP from a barrage of contradictory feelings and images and from the anxiety of trying to reconcile those images. But splitting often achieves the opposite effect. The frays in the BP’s personality become rips, and the sense of his own identity and the identity of others shifts even more dramatically and frequently.”
Identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self.
Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating). Note: Do not include suicidal or self-mutilating behavior, already covered.
Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilating behavior.
Affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days).
Chronic feelings of emptiness.
Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights).
Transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms.
Dissociation is the state in which, on some level or another, one becomes somewhat removed from “reality,” whether this be daydreaming, performing actions without being fully connected to their performance (“running on automatic”), or other, more disconnected actions. It is the opposite of “association” and involves the lack of association, usually of one’s identity, with the rest of the world.
There is no “pure” BPD; it coexists with other illnesses. These are the most common. BPD may coexist with:
Post traumatic stress disorder
Mood disorders
Panic/anxiety disorders
Substance abuse (54% of BPs also have a problem with substance abuse)
Gender identity disorder
Attention deficit disorder
Eating disorders
Multiple personality disorder
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Statistics about BPD/ BPs comprise:
2% of the general population
10% of all mental health outpatients
20% of psychiatric inpatients
75% of those diagnosed are women
75% have been physically or sexually abused
Learn about the causes and treatment of BPD. Contact BPD Central at tel: 1-888-357-4355 or 1-800-431-1579 or check out this web link: http://www.bpdcentral.com/index.php
Out in mid-November: Randi Kreger’s new book “The Essential Family Guide to Borderline Personality Disorder!” If you care about someone with BPD, you must have this book. Get an excerpt and/or order from BPD Central web site.
12 Why has your heart carried you away, and why do your eyes flash,
13 so that you vent your rage against God and pour out such words from your mouth?
Is it wrong to be angry with God? No.
The problem comes when legitimate feelings of anger are not handled correctly and lead to inappropriate bitterness and rebellion which sometimes accompany anger. The Bible realistically portrays the frustration and anger of God’s people when things go wrong or when they cannot understand why certain things happen. This was the reason for Job’s anger. Not only did he feel he was being treated unjustly by God, but he could get no explanation from him.
Jonah’s anger over Neneveh’s repentance and the death of the shade-giving vine was inappropriate (Jonah 4). Twice the Lord questioned him, Have you any right to be angry? (Jonah 4:4,9). The prophet Jeremiah grew angry with God because of his persecution and the lack of response to his preaching. But he went too far when he accused God of lying (Jer. 15:18). Immediately, God told him to repent and stop uttering foolish words (15:19).
Ultimately, that is where Job ended up. Though his suffering caused many questions and anguish, he went too far when he insisted that he had a right to an explanation. In the end, God spoke to Job and set him straight: God had the right to question Job, not the other way around (38:1-3). Job realized he had been arrogant and that his anger was unjustified. When confronted by the awesomeness of God, Job repented (42:6).
A sample from the best-selling Quest Study Bible. Copyright Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. www.Zondervan.com. To order, click her
Broken Believers 