Spiritual Care: A Guide for Caregivers (3 page)

Too often we approach spirituality from the worldviews that have
shaped us, rather than from a biblical worldview. We are pragmatic
modernists when we rationalize that we should not talk about religion-particularly Christian witness-in public. On the other hand,
we are relativistic postmoderns when we assume that we should
encourage any kind of spirituality, seeing it as benign or even good.

As we look at the prevailing trends in spirituality, we need to
keep firmly rooted in the solid grounding of Scripture, for it is
only God who heals us and satisfies that deep spiritual longing
within us. If we truly hope to meet the spiritual needs of those in
our care, our spiritual care must be focused on bringing people to
Jesus so they can experience that healing personally.

The research shows that religion is good for your health. Recent medical research at respected institutions such as Harvard and
Duke has appeared in both the professional literature and the
popular media. It indicates that regular church attenders live
longer; have a lower risk of dying from arteriosclerosis, emphysema, cirrhosis of the liver and suicide; and recover faster when
they do get sick. Their diastolic blood pressures are lower than
nonattenders, their mental health is better and their marriages are
more stable. Furthermore, studies show that prayer "works."

Christians are expressing delight over current medical research
on prayer that seems to prove what we have known all along. But
here we must exercise caution over our faith in science. Does
research prove or disprove God? How can we measure God-atwork? Does prayer work only if we get our way? God wants us
healthy and instructs us to pray for healing, but he doesn't answer
according to our criteria.

The real question we need to ask is What does the Bible say ahout
health and healing? We will examine several biblical concepts. First,
the definition of health in the Bible is holistic and broad. It has
more to do with healthy relationships than with the absence of disease. Next, healing was a major focus in the ministry of Jesus.
Finally, Jesus instructed us to "go and do likewise."

The biblical understanding of health is closely linked with the
Hebrew concept of shalom. Often translated as peace, it is much
more than an absence of conflict. Shalom refers to a God-centered
community where people live in good relationship with their
neighbors, caring for one another's physical, emotional and spiritual well-being, economic welfare, social interaction and environmental safety. There is a strong relationship between shalom and
righteousness. That righteousness is found only through a faithful
relationship with God. A righteous life leads to shalom and results
in joy and flourishing (Is 49:17-20; 51:11-16).

The biblical concept of health is also closely related to the concept of salvation, for the goal of salvation is to bring us into the
shalom of God (Is 53:4-6; 61:1-4; Jn 14:27). The Greek word
Bozo means both "health" and "salvation." We see examples of this
in Matthew 9. First Jesus healed a paralytic by forgiving his sins;
then he demonstrated that healing had occurred by telling him to
get up and go home. Then a woman who had suffered with a hemorrhage for twelve years touched the fringe of Jesus' clothing,
believing he would heal her. He turned to her and said, "Your
faith has made you well [sozo] (Mt 9:22). In both of those situations, the persons healed found more than relief from physical
symptoms. They were restored to the worshiping community.
They received both salvation and physical healing.

Linsey provides a contemporary example of this holistic healing. Grossly overweight, Linsey's blood pressure soared far above
safe levels. Medication did not adequately control it, and a battery
of tests could not locate a physiological cause. Linsey also suffered
numerous other health problems and seemed unable to lose
weight. While praying with a friend one day, Linsey remembered
some serious problems from her childhood that had left her angry
with God. She was able to picture the scenes in her mind and see
Jesus present with her through the terrifying situations. As she
began to sense God's love and care for her, she suddenly began
feeling better physically and to steadily lose weight. Her blood
pressure gradually returned to normal.

Many people would simply say that Linsey's health problems
were in her head." Jesus would probably say that they were in
her heart (Mt 13:15). However, that does not negate the reality of
the physical symptoms, nor does it indicate that all physical illness
is caused by sin. The point is that we cannot separate people into
body, soul and spirit (or any other compartments), dividing the aspects among various specialists. While doctors, nurses, counselors and clergy may each focus more intensely on one dimension,
all have to work together toward healing. Health and salvation are
ultimately flip sides of the same coin.

Some Christians are convinced that the role of the church is to
deal only with "saving souls." They fear that too much involvement in social issues might divert us from a concern for salvation.
However, salvation and healing are both social issues. True health
means living in dynamic relationship with God as fully functioning members of the body of Christ. Jesus never separated health
and salvation. Throughout the Gospels we see Jesus teaching,
preaching, healing and casting out demons-all at the same time
(Mt 4:23-25). Through his healing ministry Jesus verified that he
was truly the Messiah (Mk 2:10; 3:11; Jn 11:4).

People flocked to Jesus because he offered healing for physical
illness. Often it was only after their physical needs were met that
they began to understand Jesus' message. Consider the story in
John 9 of the man born blind. At first even the disciples did not
treat him with compassion, but merely as an object lesson. The
Jewish leaders believed that all suffering was caused by sin, and
apparently the disciples did too. However, through his healing,
Jesus made the man a much greater illustration of his love.

First, Jesus delivered the verbal message: "I am the light of the
world" (Jn 9:5). He was talking about his power to bring salvation. Then he demonstrated his power by applying mud made
with his own sputum to the man's eyes, resulting in his healing.
The man's faith then grew as he related to Jesus. The man demonstrated his initial faith in Jesus by going, as directed, to wash in
the pool of Siloam. When he returned seeing, he immediately
came up against opposition from the religious leaders. He fearlessly gave his testimony, calling Jesus a prophet. The attacks on him continued, but he refused to back down. As he defended
Jesus to the authorities, his faith and understanding grew. Finally,
he encountered Jesus again, asked questions to more fully comprehend who he was and what he had done, then confessed Jesus
as Lord and worshiped him. His healing was complete-he could
see both physically and spiritually-and that healing restored him
to his rightful place in society.

Jesus' death and resurrection made this healing available to
all of us. Isaiah tells us: "But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment
that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed" (Is 53:5).
However, we live in a "now and not yet" kingdom. Jesus won
the victory over sin, death and Satan on the cross, but we still
wait for his return to reign in that power. This time of waiting
may be filled with pain and suffering, but even now we experience glimpses of God's promise of healing (Rom 8:18-25). In the
meantime Jesus gave us a mandate to care for the sick and needy
(Lk 10:9, 37).

The early church took this command seriously. They cared for others, not only for the church members (e.g., Acts 6), but also for
believers they did not know (e.g., 2 Cor 8) and those outside the
church (e.g., Acts 2; 1 Tim 6:18; Jas 1:27). Throughout church history we see a pattern of reaching out to the total needs of people,
intertwined with the proclamation of the gospel. Christian missions
have always moved forward with a two-pronged approach, bringing
health care to people in other cultures along with the gospel message,
so they might experience the healing power of the gospel.

We have established that we are whole people who cannot be separated into unrelated components. So why must we talk about spiritual care as a specialized aspect of ministry? Although we cannot divide the person, we can make distinctions. There are different aspects to who we are and how we relate to the world.

We have physical bodies that define us. Paul tells us:

There are both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of
the heavenly is one thing, and that of the earthly is another. There
is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another
glory of the stars; indeed, star differs from star in glory. So it is
with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what
is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory.
It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a physical
body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there
is also a spiritual body. (1 Cor 15:40-44)

Our bodies are extremely important. We are to care for our bodies
(Eph 5:29) and for the physical needs of others (Lk 10:37) but not
be obsessed with them (Mt 6:25). They are the temples of the
Holy Spirit and a means for glorifying God (1 Cor 6:19-20). There
is something beyond the physical body that is eternal. It is that
aspect of the person that maintains our relationship with God
throughout life and after death. God has been involved in shaping
our bodies and every other aspect of our lives from the beginning
(Ps 139; Is 43:1). He knows the emotional baggage that we carry
and has walked through it all with us (Is 43:2). Our physical bodies, our emotions and our human relationships all interrelate, but
there is something more (Phil 3:20-21; 1 Thess 4:13-18). It is the
spiritual dimension that ties all the loose pieces of our lives
together (Ps 16:8-9; Is 55).

That spiritual dimension is not a separate part of us, hidden
deeply within our bodies, that flies away after death. Nor is it a
vague, impersonal energy field that merges with the universe. It is
the essence of who we are as persons, and it is centered in our relationship with God. The spiritual is always personal.

Spiritual beings-whether God, angels, demons or humanshave wills, intentions and character. Therefore, spiritual care
involves facilitating relationships. Christian spiritual care focuses
on helping others to establish and maintain a dynamic personal
relationship with God by grace through faith. That is made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the
work of the Holy Spirit. We serve as ministers of that grace and as
representatives of the body of Christ, the church.

As our culture becomes increasingly pluralistic, for some people spiritual care may also mean facilitating relationships with
other spirits. Christians need to be aware that for us to do so
would be leading people astray. There is no such thing as
"generic" spirituality. For a Christian to enter into a relationship
with any spirit other than God is idolatry. To lead or even support others in questionable spiritual practices is to be a stumbling block to their faith. For this reason, we must also be
careful about where we seek our spiritual direction and guidance. We should not be looking for spiritual techniques or healing practices from other belief systems. Many alternative/
complementary therapies fall into this category. The first rule of
spiritual care should be the same as for any medical intervention-do no harm. Although these therapies may look harmless
and inviting, before using them we must first investigate their
spiritual sources and ultimate ends, as well as their safety and
effectiveness.

Spiritual care for the Christian includes only those approaches
that will deepen and enhance a person's relationship with God. It
includes worship, compassionate presence, prayer, Bible reading,
a vast treasure store of Christian literature, human touch, music
and the love and support of the Christian community.

Why is spiritual care so important? First, because illness, emotional trauma and simple discouragement can cloud our relationship with God. A person in crisis is vulnerable and often
desperate. Without the support of caring Christians, anything that
promises to help will seem attractive. King Saul turned to a
"medium at Endor" (1 Sam 28:7); Mary Lou turned to "spirit
guides." Others try everything from shark cartilage to crystals.
Good spiritual care keeps a person safely in the arms of Jesus.

It is not uncommon for people who are suffering intensely to
feel that God no longer hears their prayers. Their attention span
may be short, or their eyesight poor, so that reading Scripture for
themselves does not bring comfort. They may not be able to
attend worship services or other church events, so they feel cut off
from the fellowship. They may feel helpless, hopeless and alone.
Romans 12 instructs us to exercise spiritual care toward one
another:

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;
love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.
Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.
... Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
(Rom 12:9-13, 15)

By doing so, our spirits reach out and touch the spirits of others to
encourage them in the faith. We represent Jesus to others. Spiritual care is the responsibility not merely of pastors and church
leaders but of every Christian who supports others through illness
and crises. It puts our physical care and emotional support into a
context of faith and hope.