“Hurt people hurt people.” Popularized in the 1980s, this phrase has been repeated, tweeted, and “TikTok”-ed thousands of times. Perhaps you’ve used it with someone to help him or her make sense of suffering.
Its basic meaning is that people with hurts in their past often hurt others. A Hindu might call it karma. The apostle Paul used the metaphor of seeds, saying to his readers that “a man reaps what he sows” (Gal. 6:7, NIV). Put another way, plant apple seeds, and get apple trees.
How might this show up in our lives?
A father who routinely discourages his son may raise an angry man (Eph. 6:4). A wife with an uncaring husband may become embittered and super-critical of him and her life generally (Heb. 12:15). A young woman who was sexually assaulted may feel deep shame and have difficulty maintaining loving relationships (2 Sam. 13).
In this brief article, we’ll look at how we express hurt, where it originates, and what the Bible says about facing the past so we can move forward in freedom. Two excellent resources for further exploration are Uprooting Anger by Robert D. Jones (P&R, 2005) and Putting Your Past in Its Place by Stephen Viars
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