"He who digs a pit may fall into it. . .He who quarries stones my be hurt by them, and he who splits logs may be endangered by them. If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success" (Ecclesiastes 10:8-10).
While clearing my office clutter for an important visitor I happened on an article by Dr. Diane Langberg. It was one that I used in my Pastoral Counseling lectures at Nebraska Christian College. I will share some thoughts taken from it with you.
As the writer of Ecclesiastes wisely points out, there are dangers that are inherent to any job. A wise person is more likely to be safe and successful. Pastors and pastoral counselors have good inside jobs, working with good people. So what is so dangerous about that? After all, they function in a sphere of professionalism with faith, codes of ethics and accountability to protect them.
Can people dealing with abuse, addiction, rage, fear and grief be dangerous? Those of us who listen to their stories can easily begin to question the character of God, why does He allow this to happen and why is it that many times change does not come? Where is God? We begin to see God through the lens of sin and sorrow, rather than viewing sin and sorrow through the lens of His character. This is what erodes faith.
Another danger is over-involvement. It is the thinking process that says, "Success ultimately depends on me." "If God isn't going to do anything, then, I have to." It is this kind of thinking that leads to the justification of all kinds of evils. Over-involvement is just a symptom of an eroded faith in the life of the pastor.
Another danger is that sin is contagious. The truth is that the roots of those sins we find so abhorrent in others lie within us as well. We must be careful that we do not catch the full-blown disease that we are treating in others--nor become infected with the pride of self-righteousness instead.
Grace&Peace,
Tom
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