Weekly Witness

Is it possible that the Church, that is to say true Believers in Jesus Christ, may be facing a form of what could be called Spiritual Agoraphobia?  Perhaps you have heard of this term.  It has been portrayed in movies for decades.  It is an anxiety disorder characterized by fear and resulting in avoidance of places or situations that may cause panic attacks and feelings of being trapped.  A person suffering from this disorder usually develops a sense of not being safe in public places.  Hence, that person usually is “trapped” in their house or apartment.  Interestingly enough, studies suggest that as many as 3.5 million people in the USA today suffer from this issue.  But can we make a case for a Spiritual type of this disorder?

There are therapies available to deal with the actual psychological disorder; and, given consistent and competent care, the disorder can be overcome.  The most popular therapy is called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).  This treatment is characterized as a problem focused therapy.  The theory is that a person suffers from “distorted thinking” and “learned patterns of unhealthy behavior.”  Therapy seeks to reorder the thinking processes and to teach new patterns of behavior.  It requires time and effort on the part of the person undergoing therapy.

Something sounds vaguely familiar as it relates to spiritual issues the Church is facing today.  We already know that distorted thinking is why many people suffer from unbelief.  Romans 1:21 speaks of people who became “futile in their thinking” when it came to seeing God’s eternal power and divine nature.  This futility of mind leads to spiritually unhealthy patterns of behavior.  Paul best describes this in Romans 1:24-25 when he wrote: God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever!  He is describing a distorted thinking and unhealthy behavioral pattern as regards belief in God as Creator and loving Heavenly Father.  This, of course, lead to even more sinful patterns of living.  Perhaps the most troubling issue is the fear experienced by many people today – a fear of having anything to do with listening to the Gospel Message of Christ.  The therapy?  It requires a renewal of the mind and learning ways of living that honor God as Creator and Savior. 

The Church, on the one hand, must deal with its own behavior and ask if we, as true believers, suffer from a fear of rejection from the world when standing up for our faith in Jesus.  In addition, the Church must deal with how this fear has lead us to refocus our energies on things other than evangelizing the world with the Gospel message of Christ.  If our desire and calling is to bring people to a point of experiencing a renewal of the mind in how they think about God, then we, as believers, must examine our own ways of thinking.  What fear is holding you back today from committing yourself wholly to God through Christ?  Can you see the Bible as a source of therapy for how your thinking may have gone awry?  Is there a need to learn new ways of behavior that are more healthy then those you practice now?  If we are going to practice a spiritual therapy that brings renewal of mind and heart and if we are going to offer a model of behavior that is spiritually healthy, then we must practice what we preach.  The therapy begins by listening to the Therapist – the Risen and Glorified Christ.  You are encouraged to read Ephesians 4:20-24 as a follow up to this.

Pastor David