The Bible and Grief 4

The final chapters of the book, None of these Diseases, address spiritual wholeness. It also looks at the resources Christians have to cope with the loss of loved ones (Phil.4:6-7), live victorious lives (Gal. 5:24, Rom. 6: 5-6), and die in peace (Num. 23:10). Grieving the loss of loved ones leaves and indelible mark on the souls of those left behind. I have written several posts on the long term sicknesses and diseases of people who lost a parent as a child. I am still dumbfounded when I read the statistical correlations.  

Kids can lose a significant and loving relative in several ways. I have developed a simple scale to assess the level of pain and damage done to people who suffer from Adverse Events. 

External Attacks------External Neglect

SHOCK: An Rare Adversity. It leaves victims with some emotional, spiritual damage. 
TRAUMA: An occasional Adverse event that leaves victims with significant damage.
ABUSE: Ongoing or chronic Adverse events that leave victims deeply damaged. 

1. Abandonment. It seems that the number of parents who refuse to take their responsibilities seriously and stick it out with the kids is growing daily. I recently spoke with a bright woman who suffered from depression and distant relationships. She never thought that the reason could have been the fact that her father left the family to "play around" when she was a teenager.  

2. Divorce. The high percentage of men and women who divorce today is leaving millions of children with trauma and deep emotional scars. In many instances, they are unable to offer their own families emotionally. 

3. Neglect. Many people stay with the family but neglect to provide the warmth, love and nurture a child needs to thrive emotionally and spiritually. 

4. Parental and Sibling Shock, Trauma or Abuse: Shaming, physical or sexual attacks.

The world has many people who have suffered from these kinds of events so churches must develop programs that supply large numbers of people well trained in the care and cure of souls. We call it Inner Healing today. 

Many who suffer from Shock, Trauma and Abuse develop mental, emotional and relational problems like perfectionism. The price of perfectionism and extreme ambition is described on pages 239-243. It includes fatigue, frustration and anxiety, as well as serious physical and emotional disorders.

Those leaders and ministers who refuse to develop ministries of Inner Healing are continuing to abandon people in need. Read my book, Power Christian Thinking to discover how to start the process.