Definition of Abuse and the Motivation Behind Abuse

Definition of Abuse and the Motivation Behind Abuse

Definition of Abuse

I was addressing a group of doctors about a domestic violence shelter that had opened in their county when one of them asked me to define abuse. I stood there momentarily flustered. I had never heard it defined, and I was supposed to be the “expert!”

The Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and said, “All things are to be for edification.”

I recognized this from I Corinthians 14:26, and I knew that “edification” means “to build up.” I responded, “Abuse is anything that tears down the human personality instead of building it up!”

That has been my definition ever since. In faith circles, I give the above testimony. In secular circles, I simply give the definition. Both unanimously agree with the definition.

The Motivation Behind Abuse

The motivation behind all abuse is control. The perpetrator of a sexual assault is not turned on by the appearance of the victim, thus sexual abuse is not a crime of passion. It is a crime of degradation, violence, and control. In many cases the gender is not the issue.

Here is a real-life testimony that confirms this. A group of men went to a park where homosexuals were known to hang out. They gang-raped a male homosexual. Afterward one of them said, “This will teach you how wrong homosexuality is.”

The question is, how could a group of men gang-rape a homosexual and not consider themselves to be gay? They weren’t turned on by their victim’s gender. If they had, they would be gay. Rather they were turned on by the violence degradation and control that they had over the victim.

By: Rev. Joseph Paluszak