In this blog, I wanted to focus on the topic of Sin. The reason being is because of the discussion
that was brought up last week in class on homosexuality. Though the videos I posted here do not
directly address the sin of homosexuality, I believe that it could not be any
more on target as to how Christians often try to redirect the focus of sin in
their own lives to the sin in the lives of others. In these videos, Pastor Greg Laurie addresses
the problem of Christians attempting to rationalize and minimize the sin in
their lives. In the first video, he
challenges Christians to ask God to bless these sins they consider as minuscule. In the second video, he explains how even the
smallest of sin finds its way into our everyday lives and eventually knocks us
down when we least expect it.
How
it relates to counseling:
This relates to
Christian counseling because Christian counselors should always be fully aware
of their own weaknesses to sin and never feel superior to their clients but
rather join them in their struggles and be willing to extend mercy to them. Also, if Christian counselors lose vigilance
in their own walk with Christ, they too can easily fall into deep sin and not
only bring harm to themselves but the lives of their clients as well. Especially in the counseling setting, Christian
counselors can become so fixated on trying to make people choose the right
decisions instead of investing in them and joining them in their struggles in
order to lead them to Christ.
Above all, Christian counselors are to instill hope
in others not diminish it by making others feel as though they are any less because
of the sin in their lives. Truth is that
we all fall short of the grace of God; nonetheless, God extends the same hand
of mercy to us all. He promises that
there is nothing that can separate us from Him and if Christian counselors are
to impact the lives of others, they too should extend the same hand of mercy
that was extended to them. Regardless of
one’s sin, love and mercy should always be representative of Christ above all. It is important to understand that love does
not mean acceptance of the sin but rather the complete opposite. If you truly love someone, you would tell
them the truth. Love and truth are inseparable
and never place one higher than the other.
My personal response:
In my opinion, people who show the most mercy are those
who have experienced mercy in their own lives at its fullest. I have seen Christians, who simply go through
the motions of the Christian life, be the harshest on these blatant sins such
as “homosexuality” and minimize other not so blatant sins in their own lives. I believe that if one has truly accepted and understood
the mercy of God, one can in turn extend that same mercy to others.
So my goal is to be able to see others through the eyes
of God and rather than trying to “fix them” I pray that I will be able to instill
hope in them and find strength in Christ to overcome the sin that enslaves
them.
I really love this blog. While reading this, it reminded me of Dr. Corsini when he said awhile ago about worldy issues and acceptance. I just think think back to a time when adultery was completely unacceptable and the consquences for someone who commited this sin. Even though it is still a sin, now a days the only time that it is in the limelight is if it is commited by a well known preacher or government official. Adultery is commited daily and just as much a sin as homosexuality, however there is no affilicated hate talk, no marches carried out by churches damning them to hell, etc (just to let you know I do not condone these actions) but I just wanted to show the comparison of two sins and the way they are dealt with in our society.
ReplyDeleteThank you Quonsetta, yes I understand what you mean. Christians place more emphasis on telling others what is wrong with them and why they need to change but are often unwilling to help others in their struggles and consequently fail to love others as Christ loves us.
DeleteLorena,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your post! I think that you speak very eloquently on this subject... sometimes I think it's easier and less complicated for Christians to just write homosexuals off as "sinners" instead of invest in them and try to really connect, which is what we are called to do. After all, Jesus himself hung out with the "sinners" of his day. Those who condemned were disciplined by Christ. For me though, showing mercy gets a little difficult to define when homosexuality has been so engrained in the person to the point where that is his or her identity, and change is not desired. Yet, for the person who struggles with homosexuality and wants to fight it, we as Christian counselors should be the hands and feet of Christ and always reflect the love and mercy that He himself exemplified, helping them in their battle.
Wow I wholeheartedly agree with you!! I think that it is so imperative that we remember how much mercy and grace we have received in our own lives and then extend that kind love to another person. If we act (especially as counselors) in a manner that makes us seem better than others, people will never feel like they can relate or open up to us. Also maybe others will be more able to accept that Jesus really loves them if we show them that love first.
ReplyDeleteI first want to start out by saying I could not agree with you more when you said “Christian counselors should always be fully aware of their own weaknesses to sin and never feel superior to their clients but rather join them in their struggles and be willing to extend mercy to them”. We should as Christian Counselors join our clients in their struggles, whatever that might be, and never feel superior or to even point fingers at our clients. We should always remember Gods Grace that he bestows upon us every day and be humbled by His beautiful Grace! I like how you mentioned that loving doesn't mean acceptance of their sin. I feel like as Christians we often get confused by integrating love and acceptance as the absolute true colors of a Christian. I feel like Proverbs 27:6 sums it up perfectly: “Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy.” Great blog! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete