This is http://www.essayz.com/a8906211.htm Previous-Essay <== This-Essay ==> Following-Essay Click HERE on this line to find essays via Your-Key-Words. {Most frequent wordstarts of each essay will be put here.} ========================================================== %GOD LOVE JOY ADVANTAGE VULNERABLE DEFEND VIOLENT 890621 God does not take advantage of our vulnerability, for God is Love. God the creator of the Universe does not give any person the right to take advantage of another person's vulnerability in the absence of Love, for God is Omnipresent Love. God as Omnipotent Love has the power to take advantage of our vulnerability, but chooses not to take advantage of us when we are vulnerable; for in God personal Love is fully realized. Love does not lead people to take advantage of each other's vulnerability. Greed, envy, anger, addiction, etc., lead people to take advantage of each other's vulnerability. When we take advantage of each other's vulnerability we teach each other to try to be invulnerable through DEFENSIVE efforts which lead to our ESTRANGEMENT, ALIENATION, MISUNDERSTANDING, CONFUSION, MUTUAL SUSPICION and ultimately to our COLLUSIVE GAMES OF SELF DECEPTION. When we take advantage of each other's vulnerability we teach each other not to take RISKS in the OPEN and HONEST DIALOGUE of MEANINGFUL INTIMATE FRIENDSHIPS. It is dangerous to take advantage of other's vulnerability; for: People who take advantage of each other's vulnerability cannot TRUST each other. People who cannot TRUST each other at first seek security by trusting only themselves; but their distrust becomes so pervasive that soon they cannot trust themselves, for fear of giving themselves away in an undefended moment in search of intimate vulnerability. People who take advantage of each other's vulnerability cannot give of themselves in meaningful relationships; and so they cannot accept each other meaningfully, for to do so would undermine their collusive games of mutual self deception. To meaningfully accept another person in intimate friendship means to be mutually vulnerable in mutual trust which gives security that cannot be achieved through defensive efforts. Meaningful personal acceptance is impossible to people who take advantage of each other's vulnerability. To accept personal acceptance is to be vulnerable and to give up defensive efforts to achieve security. We can not accept each other's personal acceptance while we are ready to take advantage of each other's vulnerability. We cannot accept Love on defensive terms; we cannot accept God's Love on our defensive terms. We cannot know God's Love while we have habits of mind and heart which call for us to be ready to take advantage of God's vulnerability. God as Love is vulnerable to our rejection. God as Love is secure even in the face of our rejections. God's security does not depend upon our response to his Love. God is secure in Love, just as we may be secure in Love if we accept the terms of Love's security in place of the dream of achieving security through defensive techniques. In God's Love we may find justice which we cannot achieve through our defensive techniques. Attempting to achieve selfish justice undermines the communal integrity within which personal justice is possible. If we cannot trust each other to act justly we cannot achieve justice through technical defensive measures. In the absence of Love there is no meaningful justice. Techniques without Love do not lead to the enjoyment of justice. It is dangerous to take advantage of other's vulnerability for the ultimate consequences are tragic beyond all expectations. (c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in (On Being Yourself, Whole and Healthy) ==========================================================