The flat, rubber roof on top of our worship center is in need of major repair. Thankfully, it doesn't need to be altogether replaced, but significant work needs to be done. To save money, we're trying to do most of the labor in-house. As a team of us were working on the roof yesterday afternoon, it dawned on me that roof repair and soul care have much in common. Below are five similarities that came to mind:
- Clues - We noticed there was a problem when water began leaking into the sanctuary. Even though the water was the presenting problem, it wasn't the primary problem. The presenting problem could be solved by putting out buckets, but to fix the primary problem, we had to repair the roof. Likewise, words and behavior present clues that there's a deeper problem in the heart that needs to be addressed (see Matthew 12:33-35; Mark 7:20-23).
- Crust - After removing the layer of rocks on the rubber roof, we noticed that there was a crust of silt covering the rubber membrane. This crust had built up over time and needed to be scrubbed off before any protective covering could adhere to the membrane. It wasn't easy getting through that hard external covering. We had to scrub, scour, rinse, and repeat. Some spots were harder than others and required a lot more attention. Likewise, the human heart can become encrusted by resentment and bitterness, unresolved conflict, emotional scars and such. There are no quick fixes in such cases. Spiritual cleansing requires a lot of time and painstaking effort. But the Word of God, rightly administered, can penetrate the hardest of exteriors and get to the heart of the matter (Hebrews 4:12).
- Care - While working to get the crust off the roof, we had to be careful not to damage the membrane itself. So while being conscientious, we also had to be careful. The same is true when addressing heart issues. Our goal is to kill sin without doing unnecessary damage to the spirit. "There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing" (Proverbs 12:18).
- Collaboration - Repairing a roof is a daunting task and can be a bit overwhelming if you attempt to do it alone. That's why there are roofing crews. There is strength in numbers! Scripture says, "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor" (Eccl. 4:9). The same is true in counseling. While one person is talking, the other counselor can be praying silently, taking notes, or picking up on non-verbal cues from the counselee. Beyond the structured session itself, all believers should be counseling one another in a general sense. They have the two essentials for doing so: the Word of God and the Spirit of God. In writing to a local church, Paul confidently stated, "I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another" (Romans. 15:14).
- Cost - Our roofing project here at church is costing us thousands of dollars and hundreds of volunteer man-hours (and woman-hours!). Yet our congregation believes this project is worth it, because they rightly see our building as a stewardship that God has entrusted to us. If that's true of a building, how much more so of believers, who are "like living stones ... being built up as a spiritual house" (1 Peter 2:5), "a dwelling place for God" (Eph. 2:22), i.e. "God's temple" (1 Cor. 3:16). Biblical counseling, done rightly, requires a significant investment of time, money, volunteers, and other resources in the church. But the benefits far exceed the cost as lives are changed by the power of the gospel, and the church "grows into a holy temple in the Lord" (Eph. 2:21).