Thursday, February 04, 2010

Soul Care #10: Dimensions of "Self-Help"

Most self-help materials fall into 3 general categories:

1) Your problem is due to you behavior. Stop doing something you are doing.
2) Your problem is due to you mind. Something needs to change about the way you think.
3) Your problem is due to your feelings. Something is blocked that needs to be released.

A common combination is "cognitive-behavioral", which says you must change the way you think, and then this will change the way you act. Understand it, then fix it.

The problem with these dichotomous distinctions is that Christ deals with all three of these dimensions at different times, as He always knows what is the necessary entry point into every heart.

Cultures and denominations also tend towards one of these three categories. Every culture, organization, church, group, etc... reflects both dignity and depravity.

Jesus holds the tension of these three together: How I think, how I feel, how I behave is one cohesive whole.

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