Moving the Needle.

Cults have this uncanny ability to extract more and more from their members.   They do this in a variety of ways.   

They have an uncanny ability to move your goal posts on you without giving you a thing for it.   They'll do this by talking about something and pretending to give you a listening ear while you grumble and grump.   It'll look like they are going to do something so you feel relieved only to find out a few minutes later that you are now agreeing to do more or give up more boundaries and they havne't even fulfilled anything yet.

So they demand of you in exchange for something else and at the same time they have not done what they said they would and they'll leave you with you agreeing to take on more.  Then in a day or two you'll notice thaat they haven't changed a thing and they are doing the exact samething only you've done more on your end so now it's a bigger chasm of activity in between.

They are masters at this and they prey on the idea that you'll  alwys try to be reasonable and that you'll give and take expecting them to do the same only for them their goal is to give you nothing.