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How can you love your neighbor as yourself if YOU are not loving yourself? By: Brandi Harris, MS, LPC & LMFT November 2021  The Importance of Mental Health in Ministry By: Brandi Harris, MS, LPC & LMFT November 2021 How can you love your neighbor as yourself if you’re NOT loving yourself? As a professional counselor, most of my clients come into my office with some form of self-loathing. They are unkind to themselves. They overwork as if they have an internal slave driver. They beat themselves up for making mistakes. They say hateful things in their mind about who they are and who they should be. They condemn themselves in ways they would NEVER condemn another human being, let alone a child or a beloved pet. The internal voice they report rarely sounds like Jesus. How we treat ourselves is very closely correlated with our mental and emotional health. Ministers who are constantly drinking in hateful berating can’t rationally expect to have sincere love and joy overflowing from their hearts for ministering. They can preach the right words for a bit, but how long can they run on their own steam? As anger, bitterness, pain, resentment, depression, and anxiety make regular appearances in an injured world, we require regular respite to rest, reflect, and heal. We need to reconnect with our Savior and allow time for the Gospel to penetrate and redeem our injuries. Without those moments of recovery, our hearts mirror the world more than the image of Christ. Despite extensive knowledge of the Word and intense dedication, the servant of God who has not cared for their heart begins to experience symptoms of injury: exhaustion, difficulty sleeping, oversleeping, rage, paralyzing fear, an inability to stop thinking, unresolved conflict, hidden sin, relational issues, and self-loathing (to name a few!). Where can we rest, reflect, and heal? Personal time with Jesus is always a win, but as our relationship with Jesus is communal (we are together the Body of Christ), we also need safe communal spaces to be small, injured, weak humans. Any leader who thinks themself above this is a leader worshiping themself. We all need regular time with people who do not need us to lead, teach, or disciple them. People we can trust to carry us when we are tired. People who won’t condemn us for being human. People who celebrate with us as God’s power is made perfect in our weakness, rather than in our performance. Who are your safe people? Where are your safe spaces? Care for your mind as Jesus would have you care for it—with compassion and kindness, grace and protection. Find support now. Brandi K. Harris, MS, LPC & LMFT is an author, counselor, and marriage and family therapist. She loves art, Jesus, and people. You can find more of her writing at www.ittakesabreath.com, including her most recent book, Love Well. She is available for speaking and teaching. Comments are closed.
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