Christian counselors should be people who live what they preach. The one trait that gets people to trust their counselor is that they believe the counselor counsels in the way the counselor lives. This means that if you want people to trust what you are going to tell them they should do about their problem, then you should be doing those things already. For example, we want the client to take steps to avoid future problems, right? Then we must also take steps to avoid future problems. For example, what will happen if you died tomorrow? Are your burial arrangements already worked out? Have you made sure that there is enough money to cover the expenses? What if you get hurt and cannot speak for yourself? Who will make the decisions for you? Do you even care?
Most people do nothing to prepare for their deaths or emergencies. They leave things undone until it’s too late. The relatives are then left with the anxiety and stress of making last minute decisions for which they were not prepared. They suddenly have to look for money to cover expenses they cannot not afford, make medical decisions they emotionally cannot handle, and often can’t find documents that are needed immediately. The person who died, or may be in the hospital and unresponsive, isn’t worried, it is those who are alive or related to the person who have to deal with the brunt of the selfishness of someone who refused to prepare.
Below is a list of 8 things which should be real in all Christians’ lives.
- They should have a completed and notarized Wills for themselves, and their spouses, if married.
- They should have a completed and signed Medical Power of Attorney for themselves, and their spouses, if married.
- They should have life insurance (with enough payout for at least the amount of the planned burial expenses) for themselves, and their spouses, if married.
- Security Freeze of Credit Reporting
- Emergency Savings of at least three months of household income.
- A safe able to withstand a fire, for the above documents.
- Faithful in church attendance and tithing/offering.
- A healthy prayer life, and a working familiarity with their Bible.
The last two are especially important for Christian counselors. We must be people who can be looked to as examples of lives under discipline. Not from a perspective of how perfect we are, but how normal people, like us, are willing to live in obedience to our Lord. Let’s take the steps of preparing for emergencies, so that our families won’t have to suffer twice in those situations; once for the tragedy, and secondly, from the stress and hardship of making last minute decisions, and begging for money they don’t have.
