SIN, SICKNESS & SCARS
SIN, SICKNESS & SCARS
By: Jack Guyler
David Seamands said, somewhere between our sin and our sickness lies scars. [1] What do you think about this? There are things we intentionally do that we know are wrong. This is sin. There are times we get sick or find ourselves battling addictions. And then there are the hurts and disappointments of life that accumulate that we carry, much, if not all of our lives. It could be hurtful words spoken to us as a child like “you will never amount to anything”, or seeing your father beat or even kill your mother, or a grandfather visiting your room late at night telling you it is your fault or that it is “our” little secret. Some things get implanted into our brain and soul, that we just can’t remove, no matter how many years have passed.
While we may not think consciously about these things much of the time, they are buried in our sub-conscious mind and they are always there – and they are triggered by things that people say or by things that happen to us. The church has often offered a “get over it”, “read your bible and pray more” or “if you had more faith, you wouldn’t have this problem” simplistic solutions. Unfortunately, these only come across as insensitive and adding to the burdens person are already carrying.
As the church, we are to help carry the burdens of those who are overloaded and weighed down, not add to them. Further, insensitive words only drive hurting people deeper into the darkness of isolation and unworthiness. Only when people feel cared for in a safe environment among safe people, will they begin to open up and find the healing they need. Healing always occurs in the light, never in darkness.
The church has a key role to play in helping to heal the scars that everyone has. While most in the church are not licensed counselors or therapists, the body of Christ can offer two essential points of healing for people. First, is to show people the love of God. While the church needs to teach the love of God that we see through Jesus, they need to feel it through human beings. This is the purpose of the Body of Christ, to be the hands and feet of Jesus in our world. It’s one thing to hear and think it, but it becomes powerful and life-changing when people feel it and experience it in their emotions. When they see other broken people acting differently than people they encounter in the world by caring, forgiving and accepting them, this is when they feel the reality of God’s love.
Second, is to help connect people to the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the divine counselor. Jesus said, “But the counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” (John 14:26) Paul tells us in Romans 8:26 that “the Spirit helps us in our weakness.” The word “help” here can infer the way a nurse aids in the healing process of a patient. As the church, when we help connect people with the Holy Spirit and let people know that God is personal and wants to live in them and counsel them through the difficulties of life, they can begin to practice leaning on Him and His power rather than going it alone. This provides a supernatural strength that is needed to deal with the issues and scars of life. We are stronger and healthier when we are connected to others and have the Holy Spirit as our divine counselor.
TAKE AWAY: The church needs to address mental health and what it has to offer is essential: a loving and accepting community and connection with the divine counselor, the Holy Spirit
1 – Healing for Damaged Emotions, David Seamands
