Forty Days Full - An Invitation To Real Life

equal guilt. Both of them sowed the seeds of failed human relations. By taking matters into their own hands they actually gave control to the enemy. In its simplest form, control is making someone do something you want them to do. To control a person is to take away their choice. To be a controlling person is to be one who perpetually takes charge of other people's lives seeking to take away their freedom. Most don't set out to control or even recognize what they're doing. They just see their way as the best, most sensible way of doing things. "Why can't everyone else see what I see? If you would just do what I say, you'd be happier. Trust me!" Controlling people tend to power-up when they are resisted. The volume may increase. Anger may flair. Abuse can occur. Surprisingly, many people think God is controlling. Even the songs confirm it, “God is in control!” God presented Adam and Eve with an option by placing the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden. He did not control them because choice and freedom are very important to Him. It was so important to Him it was worth losing everything He had worked for up to that point. God lives in eternity, so His perspective is so much broader than ours. Scripture says that, He is the lamb slain before the foundation of the world. He knew the cost before He even began and was willing to take that risk, so we could experience freedom. Manipulation is about controlling another person in a sneaky way. The motive is still to get them to do what you want them to do, but you do it in subtle, indirect ways. Control is usually obvious when it's happening. Manipulation is harder to put your finger on. What the manipulator is saying sounds right,