According to Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary, recidivism, is defined as "a tendency to relapse into a previous condition or mode of behavior. " Most often this term is used to described criminals who go back to the same lifestyle, or repeat the same crimes, after they have been released from prison. I am not a criminal psychologist, but I would bet that one of the biggest problems with recidivism is that for many of these individuals, when released from prison, they go back to the environments that caused the problem in the first place. We are all creatures of habit who tend to find comfort in that which is familiar to us; good or bad. Unfortunately, for many of these criminals, they are trapped in a no-win situation. They are comfortable in prison because it is all they know. However, when they are given their freedom, they end up committing crimes and getting sent right back to prison because they are uncomfortable in the free world.
"As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly." Proverbs 26:11
There was a time when a close relative of mine said to me, "Once a Catholic always a Catholic." This was the result of a conversation we had about my salvation and my exposure to that religion growing up. Now, out of respect for this person, I did not carry the conversation further. However, this statement gives insight into how many Christians, of all denominations, feel about their religion. Like myself, exposure to these belief systems happens at an early age and continues on from that point. Their are those that don't know anything outside of the experience of their own particular faith. And, sadly, many of these Christian religions have their followers trapped within them despite the error that many of them promote. Thus, when someone discovers the freedom and liberty we have in Christ they are ill-equipped to deal with what that means to them and their Christian life. And, like the criminal released from prison, they go back to their faiths because it is the most familiar to them. They are more than willing to keep subjecting themselves to the error they are taught because they don't know how to be independent of their church and dependent on the Lord Jesus Christ. They are, effectively, like a dog returning to its vomit and the fool who repeats his folly.
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace." Galatians 5: 1-4
One of the appeals of being institutionalized, even if it means being a criminal, must be the structure that it supplies the individual. Each day is scheduled for the inmate from the time they awake, to when they eat, to when they get recreation, to the time the go to bed. That is why when they are released into the free world they have problems adjusting to being in control of their own lives. They no longer have any guidance and the result is they end up falling back to the old habits that eventually lead right back to prison. After all, an idle mind is the devil's playground. So it is within the Body of Christ.When you spend 20, 30, 40 years or more, within an organized church, you don't have any clue what it means to be led by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Therefore, you go back to the ways of your particular denomination. And most of the time these denominations are legalistic in their approach to the Christian life. They have no problem laying out what they feel you need to be doing in order to please them and, ultimately, please God. And most individuals are fine with it, even if it is in error, because they don't know anything about the Lord living the Christian life in and through them. But, scripture is clear that when you have subjected yourself to the burdens of religion, you have fallen from grace and, even worse, made Christ of no value to you at all! The Body of Christ is not an organization that we need to support and allow to run our lives. The Body of Christ is an organism, made up of individuals, who have rested in the finished work of Christ on the cross and are allowing Him to lead them from within in the power of His resurrected life.
"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ... Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence." Colossians 2: 8, 20-23
What is prison for, if not to restrain sensual indulgence by keeping criminals locked up? Their inability, if you will, to not handle, not taste and not touch, is what got them sent to prison in the first place. That is why many of them go right back to their old behaviors when they are freed from prison. All prison did was modify their behavior for the time they were held there, but once they left there was nothing to restrain their natural tendencies any longer. Your average religion isn't any different as it tries to modify the behavior of the Body through human traditions that don't work any better at changing our behavior than your average criminal. Why is that? Because you may be able to change someones behavior through threat of incarceration or God's wrath, but you can't change their heart. The only way to change a heart is through a personal encounter with, and acceptance of, Jesus Christ. He, through the indwelling Holy Spirit, changes a person from within by changing their heart and their desires. The byproduct of that is a change of behavior. It is basic human nature to rebel against not being able to do something. That is why prisoners try to escape from prison and even why some Christians destroy their reputations by endulging in sinful behaviors when they are out from underneath the heavy hand of religion. God didn't come to put us in bondage to rules and human regulations. He already had the law for that purpose. God, in the Person of Jesus Christ, wants us to rest from self-righteous works and trust in Him totally to lead and guide us from within. It is in this way that we are able to be set free and not return to that which bound us up.
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