15 Jan Why People Suffer in Relationships & Family (or Lack Thereof)

(Watch 5 1/2-minute excerpt) Jesse asked a several people in the audience if they are serious about seeking God. He described the way many people only want God when in trouble. Men get a feeling of “God” from their relationship with girlfriend or wife. Jesse counseled with a man who felt desperate to pray and know God after a bad breakup. But soon the man returned to the woman and forgot about God — Jesse hasn’t heard from him since. Women suffer similarly in breakups.

A longtime church member sent BOND an article from Washingtonian about former D.C. mayor Marion Barry and his son, Christopher. When a father fails, he sets up his children to fail.

Jesse counseled with another man whose father could not deal with life. One day, this man visited his father’s house, and found his body hanging — he committed suicide. The man too has attempted suicide and is taking antidepressant medication, following in his father’s footsteps.

Jesse often repeats that love comes from above, not below — your father represents Christ on earth, so he should give love, not look for love in women. Women look to men, but they suffer because men are weak — and women hate weak men.

A woman watching live on YouTube asked how to get to God if she’s not married, and if her father is not Christian. Another person asked how to forgive parents who have died — you cannot face and apologize to someone who died. Jesse said you forgive through self-knowledge. People don’t know what self-knowledge is — it’s a state of nonjudgmental attention.