#mitigating circumstances

Excuses can come in many disguises. Who doesn’t sometimes get frustrated with people that keep coming up with excuses? And we all do a bit of excuse-making, don’t we? You know what I’m talking about. But don’t worry, help is on the way from basketball player Matt Scott who featured in the Nike ad. Press play to hear a perfect one minute inspirational response suited to all excuse-makers. You’ll hear Matt talking to folk churning out the same old excuses - and lame ones at that. Stay tuned, there’s a moving twist to the ending.

Mitigating circumstances can reduce culpability, and if the circumstances are severe enough then the jury might give a not guilty verdict. Being the victim of long time abuse and killing your abuser can render a not guilty verdict. Also, if one was coerced into committing the murder because a loved one was a hostage, the jury might call for a not guilty verdict. But mitigating circumstances doesn’t always absolve the defendant of their crime, most of the time their punishment is reduced but not removed.  

Understanding the mitigating circumstances for someone's actions does NOT mean it excuses them. Simply give an explanation, which doesn't mean the action is OKAY.

hi so i realise i’ve been super distant with this blog and that’s just so dumb because this is my lifeline. it’s my documentation of uni. SO - update, uni have been so supportive to me and as a result of that i applied for mitigating circumstances. i really didn’t want to but any of my work just sounded like utter crap, it either sounded self-indulgent, pretentious or just dull. so i stopped doing it for a few days. then i realised i only had 3 days left so i panicked, applied for mitigating circumstances and stayed awake on cups of tea and loud music blaring through headphones which ended up with me finishing my website.

New Post has been published on https://www.crownofcompassion.org/2018/07/30/behavior-modification-plan-sin-avoidance/

Behavior modification plan - sin avoidance

“On the behavior modification plan, I define integrity as ‘sin avoidance.’  As long as I’m engaged in forbidden behaviors, I think I’m on the right track.”- John Ortberg

John Ortberg concludes Chapter 10 of When the Game is Over as he stresses that problems with integrity center in the heart.  Thus, integrity involves something much bigger that simple avoidance of breaking the rules.  Also, integrity doesn’t result from getting really good at not doing the things you want to do.  Rather, Pastor Ortberg asserts, it means “becoming the kind of person who does the right thing.”

Yet, John observes, humans possess an almost limitless ability for self-deception.  Thus, the author takes a look at two integrity problems:

self-serving bias: a blind spot in human nature that causes us to make ourselves the heroes of our stories.  As heroes, we exaggerate our role in victories, but absolve ourselves of blame for failure and error.

fundamental attribution error: if something good happens to you, you tend to explain it by taking credit for it.  However, if you fail, you blame your circumstances.  Also, we tend to explain our bad behavior in terms of mitigating circumstances.  Yet we explain others’ bad behavior in terms of their character defects.

In conclusion, Pastor Ortberg notes, there’s a way back home for rule-breakers — grace through repentance.  For we need God’s help in order to clearly see the truths about our lives and character.  Living with grace is better than anything else.  As Scottish preacher James Stalker (1848-1927) explains, only Jesus fully understood and lived the rules:

“The most important part of the training of the Twelve was on which was perhaps at the time little noticed, though it produced splendid results – the silent and constant influence of his character on them.  It was this that made them into the men they became.”

Today’s question: How often do you resort to a behavior modification plan?  Please share.