Off the hook

"When a trout rising to a fly gets hooked on a line and finds himself unable to swim about freely, he begins a fight which results in struggles and splashes and sometimes an escape. Often, of course, the situation is too tough for him.

In the same way the human being struggles with his environment and with the hooks that catch him. Sometimes he masters his difficulties; sometimes they are too much for him. His struggles are all that the world sees and it usually misunderstands them. It is hard for a free fish to understand what is happening to a hooked one."

- Karl A. Menninger (The Human Mind)

Dr Menninger is regarded by many as the father of American psychiatry. Among other things, he was of the view that criminals should be treated rather than punished. Much criminal behavior, he said, is a pathological reaction to severe punishment suffered earlier in life; further punishment, he said, will only worsen the situation. The quote above articulated his view.

I came across this quote while reading The Chosen by Chaim Potok. It set me to thinking that sometimes Christians have the mentality of a free fish. We are not able to comprehend or understand what is happening to someone who is still bound in captivity and who has yet to be set free through Christ. We become impatient, we become frustrated, we become judgmental, we become cold, and we give up on them. 

The irony is that we were once in their state, hooked on our own lines of sin.