The Practical Applications of the Scriptures

For many years I was a practicing psychotherapist who had many Christians as patients/clients. I would always start my sessions off with this question: What's going on? How long has this been going on? What have you done to deal with this situation? I would then ask them if they were spiritual, and what role had their spirituality played in dealing with their presenting problem. I was surprised to learn that they were unaware of the practicality of God's word, and the counsel that He offers all through the scriptures.

Many Christians are not aware of how they compartmentalize their faith. What I mean by compartmentalization is that they do not allow their faith/spirituality to enter into all aspects of their lives. They are Christians on Sunday, but they do not allow their spirituality to surface at work, social functions, and around certain family and friends. It is like they live a double life. We all have a public self, what we show the public, and a private self , that secret part of our lives.

The scriptures are powerful; they are sociology, psychology, history, anthropology, mathematics and biology. I am most interested in the psychological and sociological aspects of the scriptures for they give prescriptions on how to handle anger, depression, worry, guilt, shame, relationships, money, dealing with conflict, and much more.

In my new capacity as a Christian Life Coach, I use the scripture as an theological approach to dealing with issues of daily life. Our lives are like a play that has several chapters that corresponds with the psychosocial developmental stages of our lives. If we are blesses we may be able to reach the final chapter when we are in our 60's-80's years of age. How well we handle the early chapters of life, the better the later chapters will be. If I make good decisions in the prime of my life, there is a good chance that later life will be peaceful and comfortable. There is peace and comfort in the Scriptures if you know where to find it. It does not help to have cognitive spirituality that just stays in your head and is never put to use. God Bless