The Counseling of God Essay Example for Free

The Counseling of God Essay In the book Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling, Mark McMinn emphasizes the importance of involving Christianity in counseling activities. In this book he stresses the importance of assimilating Psychology and Christianity by citing numerous examples. McMinn highlights the importance of using the Scripture in counseling since not many in the population of counselors make use of such for the application in this profession. McMinn accentuates all the positive effects that the use of the Scripture, prayer, study of the Biblical texts and sacraments have in counseling and that everybody who lives to counsel other people should embrace this practice with their profession. Mostly, counselors try to avoid the inclusion of religion in what they do and McMinn argues that this could be dangerous since most emotional disturbances may be related to sin. According to McMinn confessing the sins in the seclusion of a counseling office is a vital part of the healing process of the client or the student. McMinn argues that integrating the notion of sin and the process of confession into the counseling process can help clients grow spiritually. McMinn also touched the subject on forgiveness and redemption. As McMinn has discussed, forgiveness may not be described only as an emotional relief. In contrast to psychotherapy, forgiveness and redemption involves understanding, self-awareness and humility and further, redemption is a way of healing or recuperation. Thus, from this claim, the restoration of meaning and worth in the client’s life may be realized through God. Psychology and Christianity are two disciplines that are very complex and are not very simple to simultaneously give meaning to, but by having a solid foundation in both fields could help the counseling profession to more conveniently assist their clients in recognizing it. Concrete Responses I was not a part of the best looking lot back in elementary school and high school. I was overweight, my nose is way too crooked and my teeth just decided to settle on top of each other. To make up with that, I would say that I talked a lot and I craved for a lot of attention. Every time somebody is showing off their new stuff like some neat shoes or a nice and expensive bag, I had a problem of severe jealousy and desire to have the same things. So I usually bug my parents to buy me one even if it is completely unnecessary. I only managed to ponder over these facts now that I am an adult. I know and I have realized that everything I was before only rooted from my almost brutal superficial nature. Unfortunately, I think I was not able to get over it. I think it was a bit inevitable to take that part with me as I grew older. Though I don’t get jealous over shoes anymore, I have shifted to things that are a bit more appropriate for my age. Most people have moments wherein they would feel inadequate and incompetent. However, my method in coping with that is to fulfill my â€Å"meagerness† by making up stories to the point of doing it at the expense of other people. I think the foulest thing that I have ever done is when I simultaneously came up with my own â€Å"fairy-tales† just to make myself look good and superior. I told people that my father was someone who has a really good status in our city, although my dad is just this normal guy. I told people that I owned coffee shops and that I did part-time work for a very reputable employer, I made a fake faculty I. D just so that I can have access to books without deadlines, I cheat my way towards so many ends and the worst is, I also have very controversial photos that I believe was going around online within the group that I belong to. That incident woke me up at some point and made me contemplate a lot on how I have been behaving. I believe that some people who knew me well are just staying silent about all the rotten actions that I have been plotting for my own benefit. They are staying silent because they don’t even attempt to rekindle our friendship and I know how much they hate me because of their utter indifference. By now, since we belong to the same University, the tales that I have started may have reached their knowledge at this point but I am thankful that they never gave me away. And right now all I feel is fear and guilt. What bothers me about this book is the permanent dread it is causing me. Ironically, I am fairly religious and I do believe in God. Since I feel that what I have been doing is nearing a very embarrassing publicity, I am kind of more worried by the fact that other people finding out about this would validate the fact that I really did it. I felt at first that it could just be a dream that I created. A dream of a life that I want to have, something that I have tried to put into actuality but with much pretense and deception. Now it will pretty much turn into a nightmare if worse comes to worst How can I deal with the truth behind the falsity I created when I would feel that God will be reprimanding me for it? I think that it would be less painful for me if people would judge me for what I have done rather that something telling to my face that I have violated so many aspects of the Bible in which I strongly believe in. On the other hand, how would this affect me if I were agnostic? Would I even care? Would I feel less guilty? I may feel terrible about how it would reflect me as a person and how other people would think of me. But that is just about it. If that is the case then I think I would be more vulnerable to doing it again, to new sets of people that will be introduced in my life. I guess, the baggage will indeed be less heavy but it would be very similar to needless shrubs that would be growing again and again if I don’t pull the roots out. I think the fact that I know I have failed God would make it a lot more difficult for me to once again do whatever sick things that I have done just to get ahead. As a strong believer I didn’t really think that this is just what I have been waiting for, just something that would rest each and every lie that I have told others right in front of me, just to get back to me with a dagger that is ready to stab me right in the heart. I know that it would be difficult to regain the trust of the people that I have so successfully fooled. But all I can actually do now is face it and start anew. I wouldn’t really have much of a choice because this is my life and thinking about â€Å"bright† ideas like leaving and starting a new life somewhere else with a new identity would just definitely make everything worse and is rather stupid by the way. I would just have to step into the limelight of shame and prove that I wouldn’t want to be in this kind of situation ever again. I wouldn’t promise or say anything but I would try my hardest and hope that everything would just go away. Even if it would take a lot of time to go back to how I was, I am willing to wait. I would move on, live life the way I should, prepare myself for all the consequences but I assure that these consequences will be accepted but it would never ever defeat me.