How does manipulation affect my relationships? - Manipulation - TouchPoints

Genesis 27:12, 15-16, 21-23, 30, 35“What if my father touches me? He’ll see that I’m trying to trick him, and then he’ll curse me instead of blessing me.” . . . Then she took Esau’s favorite clothes, which were there in the house, and gave them to her younger son, Jacob. She covered his arms and the smooth part of his neck with the skin of the young goats. . . . Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you and make sure that you really are Esau.” So Jacob went closer to his father, and Isaac touched him. “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s,” Isaac said. But he did not recognize Jacob, because Jacob’s hands felt hairy just like Esau’s. So Isaac prepared to bless Jacob. . . . As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and almost before Jacob had left his father, Esau returned from his hunt. . . . But Isaac said, “Your brother was here, and he tricked me. He has taken away your blessing.”

Genesis 29:25When Jacob woke up in the morning—it was Leah! “What have you done to me?” Jacob raged at Laban. “I worked seven years for Rachel! Why have you tricked me?”

Genesis 31:7“He has cheated me, changing my wages ten times. But God has not allowed him to do me any harm.”

The selfishness and dishonesty of manipulation is directly opposed to the self-giving love and trust necessary for long-lasting, healthy relationships.