Thoughts On…
Over the next several weeks I plan to do a series of articles dealing with both the Biblical and therapeutic perspective of some of the top mental health struggles that we are seeing today. Many of us (yes, I said us) have sought counseling at various stages of our lives. I have served in ministry for 24 years and counseling at some level for almost 10. I still am learning every day. Just this week I was watching some instructional videos from a counseling course at Freed-Hardeman and there some refreshingly new concepts that were brought to my attention.
Self-care, counseling, and Biblical study all have something in common—it is a continual process. I’m convinced that you never truly arrive at a point of absolute perfection in any of those things because life and society are ever changing (check out chapter three of Paul’s letter to the Philippians). Therefore, I may have written on these topics in the past, but there may be some new information or it could be that your life situation has changed and the information is more pertinent to your life now than it was before. So I would encourage you to read it and pass it along. You will be able to locate these (along with many other articles) long after they are in the bulletin if you go to www.benandtravis.com/blog.
I want you to begin this week with a couple of things to consider:
1. This will not include all the information you need for each of these topics. There are thousands of books and articles on each subject. There is no way adequately cover everything.
2. This is not intended to replace for mental health help that you are engaged in or may need to seek. If anything, I hope it serves as a catalyst for help to those who may need to seek help.
3. The Bible is not set in opposition to science, the medical field, or the mental health field. Actually, the Bible is the very foundation to all of these areas. Many concepts found in the Old Testament laws of cleanliness and the health of the Jewish nation have proved to be scientifically relevant once “rediscovered” by those in the medical field (ie, washing, the handling of sicknesses and dead bodies). Likewise, there have been many occasions where a professor has shared a concept that was discovered in the counseling field that I immediately think of a verse that confirms the concept.
So over the next several weeks I plan to use this space to give you thoughts on topics like depression, anxiety, anger, relationships, grief, addiction, self-esteem, and living a life of balance. There may be other topics I think of along the way. There also might be topics you want to suggest, and I will be more than happy to cover them as I am able. I am extremely excited about the counsel that we will find in the Scripture and the practical things we may discover along the way to bring help and healing.
“Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors.” - Psalm 119:24
Ben