Can we agree to quit saying triggered? What does triggered mean anyway. Far to often, after grown or nearly grown people unleash a tidal wave of emotions, lashing out, screaming or sobbing in heaps on the floor the actions are followed with the explanation, "Oh, I was triggered."
What are these people really saying?
A trigger is a mechanism, which activates a weapon. Weapons do not activate themselves. An outside person or force does that. At its core, the pronouncement declares two very dangerous and contradictory things; I'm here to do harm and it wasn't my fault.
As believers, made in the image of God, we are not inanimate objects, flowers waiting to be picked or doors waiting to be opened. We are not immobile pawns waiting to be acted upon. The same spirit who raised Christ from the dead dwells in us, Romans 8:11. We have power and a calling to bring salt, light, and healing, Ephesians 2:10, 2 Timothy 1:7. We are not unwieldy instruments of injury and death. We are not bullets flung helplessly through the air. We bear the identity of Christ, at least we are supposed to, Galatians 2:20.
The denial of responsibility is not simply a denial of guilt. It is a denial of our duty to consider how we affect others and ultimately a denial of the healing and transforming power of God, 2 Corinthians 10:5, Romans 12:2. Yes, we do experience traumas. Yes, life is hard. Sometimes we are tested beyond beyond ability to endure. We may even want to die. It is in those times of pain and desperation when we learn to rely on God, 2 Corinthians 1:8-9. Dismissing our own bad behavior by declaring, "I was triggered," rather than repenting and apologizing, keeps healing, and mercy far from us, Psalms 32:1-6, Proverbs 28:13. That is Worth Remembering.
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