Hey it's just a little porn and I'm no sex addict,

by Mike Genung

A little while ago I called an old friend to say hello, and the conversation turned to my involvement in helping the sexually broken. After I shared of my 20 year struggle with sex addiction, my friend said "well, I'm no sex addict, I'm just a casual porn user!"
Today there are many who call themselves "casual porn users", or CPUs as I call them. They indulge in porn occasionally, maybe just a few times a year so they don't see a problem with it. After all it's just pictures and no one else will see; how can anyone get hurt?

In Matthew 5:27 Jesus said:
You have heard that it was said ‘You shall not commit adultery’ but I say to      you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 

From Jesus' piercing words we know that to lust after other women or men is to commit emotional and spiritual adultery. Having self sex while looking at pictures of naked women is taking this sin of adultery to the next level; it's adding sexual experience to lust, pouring gas on the fire.

What might your wife say if you approached her and said "honey, this year I'm going to commit adultery just three times. Once this month, again in July and one last time in December. But I won't touch anyone, I'm just going to masturbate to pictures of other naked women. But it's just me and pictures and I won't actually have sex with another person. Ok?"

Obviously your wife would be angry and deeply hurt. Why? Because she knows true love comes from the heart, and you're taking your love, which you've promised is hers alone, and giving it to another.

I know one wife who walked in on her husband while he was masturbating with with porn. Seeing her husband having sex with himself, with pornographic magazines spread out on the floor in front of him broke her heart. The trauma this couple went through was little different from what they would have experienced if he was caught with another woman.
    
Another wife of a man who struggles with sex addiction writes:

My husband and I have been married for a little over one year. He had a problem with pornography and has now been clean for over two years. To this day I struggle with the pain of this, and I don't know how to recover. I ask God to take the pain away so that we might be intimate without me remembering what he has done. I have forgiven him but I hurt so much. I will never be that picture, and how do I know he doesn't expect me to? I am to be loved, and how am I to satisfy a husband who can be satisfied by a picture of some fantasy woman I will never be, a picture of someone who will never be his wife? Men should know that if they have a wife, or plan to get married someday that it really does hurt her. My husband has grieved with me over the pain I have. Believe it or not it affects our sex life, and I can't keep it from entering my head...every time.

One of the biggest lies Satan whispers is "a little lust won't hurt you; go ahead, its just you and pictures. No one will know." The truth is that "just a little porn" is playing a big part in taking out many marriages. At a 2003 meeting of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, two thirds of the 350 divorce lawyers who attended said Internet porn contributed to more than half of the divorce cases they handled. They also said that “pornography had an almost non-existent role in divorce just seven or eight years ago.”    

My friend, you may not be a sex addict, but if you're dabbling in porn you're committing adultery and hurting your wife. You're also hollowing out your soul and wasting your character. "Casual porn use" is little different from sexual addiction, and it may be worse. Those who struggle with sex addiction often hit a hard bottom fast, which forces them to get help quicker. I've seen Casual Porn Users who've taken their sin well into middle age.  It doesn't need to be this way...


The Effects of Sex Addiction: The Effects of Lust

The Effects of Lust 

by Mike Genung

Our culture says that pornography, promiscuity and adultery are harmless fun. 
Some psychologists say lust is healthy.
Many use pornography thinking they’re not hurting anyone because “it’s just me and pictures.” 
Husbands and fathers think they’re not corrupting their wives and children because “the wife and kids don’t see what I’m doing”.
Singles think they’re not hurting anyone “because they’re not married”.
But sex addiction has devastating effects on the struggler with lust and those around him. What the sex addict can’t see is that:
Lust is his master.
       The Christian sex addict calls Jesus ‘Lord’ with his mouth, but then like Peter denies Him and turns to the goddess of lust. Sin takes a strong foothold in his heart as he lives trying to have both God’s love and lust’s “comfort”. But, “God is not mocked” and “by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.” Like a crack addict, the sex ‘user’ is ruled by his compulsions to act out even though he hates what he’s doing. 
He’s isolated and empty.  
       The shame from his sexual acts and the fear of being exposed and rejected are powerful motivators that keep the sex addict trapped in isolation. He closes himself off, not realizing he’s creating a “vacuum of emptiness” inside.  This “vacuum of emptiness” is unbearable and so he “fixes it” by acting out sexually. But his acting out only produces more shame and emptiness, and a vicious cycle sets in. 
       To try to run from the mess he is on the inside, he fakes it on the outside. Some throw themselves into their career, mistakenly thinking the temporary successes of their job can fill their deep hunger for love.     
       Others try to use ministry. They put on their Sunday Happy Face and get “busy for God” making all the right noises to impress others with how good a Christian they are. But helping others can’t soothe their lonely and aching heart, and so the addict soon becomes a Pharisee.   
       Some try to fill their growing emptiness with food, drugs, alcohol, people (relationships) and of course more sexual acting out. But nothing satisfies and the addict’s emptiness only intensifies, keeping him trapped in the cycle of misery.
He becomes increasingly self-centered. 
       In his isolated state the sex addict becomes the center of his world. He obsesses about acting out, (or not acting out), his wants, his problems, how he is feeling at the moment, looking successful and what others think about him. All of this self-obsession causes ego buildup – and a critical judging heart.  He’s blind to the needs of others, especially those of his wife and children. 
       His wife is neglected and ignored and he makes little effort to do the things she likes. His kids, who need their Dad’s love, strength and affection are treated as little more than noisy distractions. He’s harsh and critical to his family, and little things set him off easily. Although he doesn’t know it, the stench of his self-obsession is painfully evident to the ones he loves. 
       His prayer and devotional times become short, infrequent, shallow and about him. “Lord forgive me, help me, give me, me me…”.  Intercession is an afterthought and praise is a duty. He stops enjoying God and forgets how to listen and be still.
His character rots. 
       Webster calls the heart “the vital center and source of one's being, emotions, and sensibilities”. This sensitive place deep in the man’s soul, where his strength and character are forged, is corrupted, distorted and hardened by the shame, selfishness and isolation of lust. 
      Instead of being the man of courage and integrity God has made and called him to be, he becomes “Weakheart”, a “man without a chest.” He loses his moral authority and the courage to do what’s right. Instead of being a fighter he becomes a passive weakling who hides from the challenges of life. He makes compromises he would never have dreamed of taking before in financial and other areas.  
      His work ethic suffers, and he doesn’t give his employer his best effort. He steals by using company time for acting out or other personal activities.
                                                                                                                  His perceptions, values and decision making processes are distorted.
       Although the Christian sex addict says that “God, family and others” are his priorities, the actions of his life say “himself, acting out, and trying to feel good” are his primary values. God and others fit in when it’s convenient or of necessity. 
      He doesn’t see how his decisions affect himself and others and he can’t see the devastating long term consequences of his choices. His distorted ambitions and his insecure and narrow perspective leave him prone to making big mistakes when crucial decisions need to be made both in his personal and professional life.  
       He’s blind to the fact that the course he’s on is destructive to himself, his family, his employer and the church. He wastes the gift of his short life and the chance to impact others in a positive way. 
       He engages in riskier sexual behavior, willing to throw everything away for something that will never satisfy, not realizing that “sin makes you stupid…”

If he’s single, he corrupts his future marriage. 
         Single men buy into the delusion that once they can have “moral sex” their problems with sex addiction will stop. What they don’t understand is their empty heart can’t be filled or healed by another broken person and getting married is not the answer to their problem. He doesn’t realize that what he does now will destroy his marriage later…
He gets physically sick more often. 
       The stress sex addiction puts on his immune system drags it down. Sex addicts get more colds and other respiratory infections, with longer recovery times.   
He becomes a mess chemically.
       Sexual addiction alters the shape of the brain and drains natural serotonin levels. The nervous system gets messed up. Deep sleep through the night is elusive and he often feels run down. Clinical depression, anxiety attacks and blood pressure problems start to creep in. Many sex addicts wind up on antidepressants or other medication to cope. Sadly, because they “feel a little better” on the medication they are deluded into thinking they’re not as bad off as they really are, and the journey of insanity continues until…
All joy in life is gone. 
       Because his “happiness” in life is based on fantasy, his hobbies and other interests cease to offer any enjoyment. Personal or corporate worship times, normally a source of joy, only intensify his feelings of shame. He forgets how to relax and just have fun and he won’t slow down because it forces him to face what he is inside. Life becomes drudgery. His answer ? More acting out to fill the Big Hole.
He deeply hurts his wife and children. 
       Because his wife isn’t the always-there-for-him centerfold of his delusions he rejects her. His wife is repeatedly fed the message that “she’s not good enough”, and he prefers pictures of other women to her. She dies inside as the man she committed her life to coldly rejects her. Dad’s self-centered emotional abandonment tells his kids that he doesn’t value them. As a result an open wound of rejection by the most important man in their life takes root. Because Dad is Weakheart his kids don’t get the discipline they need to shape and build strong character. Soon his kids learn that they need to “make it on their own without Dad”. Unwittingly, the sex addict has now set his own children up for the very sin that has kept him captive. 
Ministry opportunities are lost. 
       All of God’s unique spiritual gifts and abilities are buried in the garbage can of his lust. He is blind to others close to him that may be in need or even ripe for the gospel.
       Then there are ruptured families, unplanned pregnancies, abortion, money problems, STD’s, the financing of the porn industries, the corruption of the church and the moral disintegration of our nation.
He rejects the Lord 
       Jesus, the One Who loves the sex addict, died for him, and is waiting to help him is grieved as the addict says that “I want porn instead of You God.” 
 
       Most men don’t take sex addiction seriously because they don’t see how deeply they’re hurting themselves & others  and that they’re wasting the precious gift of their life.  
       If you’re struggling with sex addiction my prayer is that you take it seriously and do whatever it takes – now - to run from lust with everything you’ve got. 

Reconciling Yourself to the Fact of Sin

This is your hour, and the power of darkness —Luke 22:53


Not being reconciled to the fact of sin— not recognizing it and refusing to deal with it— produces all the disasters in life. You may talk about the lofty virtues of human nature, but there is something in human nature that will mockingly laugh in the face of every principle you have. If you refuse to agree with the fact that there is wickedness and selfishness, something downright hateful and wrong, in human beings, when it attacks your life, instead of reconciling yourself to it, you will compromise with it and say that it is of no use to battle against it. Have you taken this “hour, and the power of darkness” into account, or do you have a view of yourself which includes no recognition of sin whatsoever? In your human relationships and friendships, have you reconciled yourself to the fact of sin? If not, just around the next corner you will find yourself trapped and you will compromise with it. But if you will reconcile yourself to the fact of sin, you will realize the danger immediately and say, “Yes, I see what this sin would mean.” The recognition of sin does not destroy the basis of friendship— it simply establishes a mutual respect for the fact that the basis of sinful life is disastrous. Always beware of any assessment of life which does not recognize the fact that there is sin.

Jesus Christ never trusted human nature, yet He was never cynical nor suspicious, because He had absolute trust in what He could do for human nature. The pure man or woman is the one who is shielded from harm, not the innocent person. The so-called innocent man or woman is never safe. Men and women have no business trying to be innocent; God demands that they be pure and virtuous. Innocence is the characteristic of a child. Any person is deserving of blame if he is unwilling to reconcile himself to the fact of sin.

Siomay

SIOMAY

Setiap hari, sebelum anakku bangun, aku sudah harus berada di dapurku yang sempit menyiapkan semua bahan-bahan untuk kubuat siomay. Ya, aku memang hanya bisa meneruskan usaha yang orang tuaku wariskan. Tidak ada harta berlimpah atau sebidang tanah. Hanya sebuah rumah kecil dan keahlian membuat siomay saja yang kumiliki tapi hal itu sungguh aku syukuri. Namun ketika istriku meninggal karena sakit, aku merasa beban hidup ini begitu berat, karena Maximus, anak kami baru saja berusia 7 tahun.

Setiap pagi saat mengantar Maxi ke sekolah dengan sepeda tuaku, aku lalui sambil menitipkan siomay ke kios-kios yang kulewati. Siangnya sambil menjemput Maxi pulang sekolah, aku ambil semua siomay yang tersisa dan uang hasil penjualan siomay hari itu. Ketika daganganku habis, senang rasanya karena aku dapat menyisihkan uang walau sedikit untuk tabungan sekolah Maxi. Namanya juga jualan, kadang habis kadang tersisa banyak, namun aku berusaha untuk tetap semangat.

Satu-satunya semangatku adalah Maxi, ia harus sekolah yang tinggi agar hidupnya bisa lebih baik. Aku selalu berdoa agar kelak ia berhasil mewujudkan cita-citanya, yaitu menjadi dokter. Seperti yang sering ia katakan ketika kami melewati gang kecil menuju ke rumah. “Paa...aku ingin mainan dokter-dokteran ini...!” katanya memelas. Namun karena harga mainan itu cukup mahal, aku tidak bisa langsung membelikanya. Semakin hari setiap kali melewati tukang mainan itu, ia menangis semakin keras.

Rasanya aku sudah menghancurkan kebahagiaannya, ketika aku melihat ia meneteskan air mata karena aku tidak mampu membelikan mainan itu untuknya. Aku ingin ia selalu bahagia, namun dengan segala keterbatasanku, aku harus menahan semua kepedihan itu. Yang bisa kulakukan hanya memeluknya, memberinya pengertian bahwa satu hari nanti mainan itu pasti ia dapatkan. Puji Tuhan, dua bulan kemudian aku baru sanggup membelikannya. Melihat matanya berbinar saat memegang mainan itu untuk pertama kalinya aku sangat bersyukur dan bahagia.

* * * * *

11 September tahun 2010 ini, 30 tahun sudah usia Maximus. Aku dan istriku memberinya nama Maximus karena kami ingin ia tumbuh menjadi seorang yang kuat, bisa menjadi berkat untuk orang banyak dan takut akan Tuhan. Kini ia sudah berhasil menjadi seorang dokter. Bukan hanya karena usahaku, tapi karena ketekunannya belajar sambil bekerja paruh waktu selagi ia duduk di bangku SMP sampai kuliah. Ia memang tumbuh menjadi laki-laki yang kuat dan penuh semangat.

Sejak 5 tahun lalu, ia memintaku untuk berhenti berjualan siomay dan aku turuti karena aku juga ingin punya banyak waktu untuk bersama dengan anakku. Namun semakin hari ia semakin sibuk. Apalagi setelah ia menikah, kemudian ia pindah ke rumahnya yang baru. Pernah ia mengajakku untuk tinggal bersamanya. Tapi berat rasanya bagiku untuk meninggalkan rumah dimana pernah kulewati berbagai macam kenangan.

Ketidakhadirannya dalam rumah ini digantikan oleh kiriman uang setiap bulan. Dalam kondisiku seperti sekarang, aku sadar bahwa aku sudah tidak mungkin bisa menghasilkan uang lagi. Aku sudah mulai sering sakit-sakitan, hingga Maxi mengirimkan seorang perawat rumah tangga untuk menjagaku. “Inikah yang kucari selama ini?” sebuah pertanyaan besar selalu mengiang dalam pikiranku ketika malam tiba, saat aku tidak bisa memejamkan mata.

“Jadi...kapan kamu pulang?” tanyaku ketika akhirnya aku berhasil menghubunginya. “Iya, Pah...nanti Maxi mampir ke rumah Papa yah, tapi engga bisa minggu ini. Masih banyak kerjaan Pah,” katanya terdengar seperti tergesa-gesa. “Nanti teleponnya disambung lagi ya Pah, ada pasien gawat yang harus ditangani,” kemudian terdengar bunyi telepon terputus. “Maxi...Maxi...!” aku memanggil namanya berulang-ulang namun tidak ada jawaban.

Kini yang kurasakan hanya sepi, sesepi suasana di rumah ini. Kadang aku berpikir, “apakah orang lain seusiaku juga merasakan dan mengalami hal yang sama?” Aku hanya mampu membolak-balik album foto yang warnanya sudah mulai pudar. Namun setiap kali melihat senyum Maxi kecil saat berfoto bersama aku dan istriku di depan rumah tua ini, dalam kesepianku, aku bisa tersenyum bahagia.

* * * * *

Di sudut lain, di depan poliklinik, sebuah sedan hitam mengambil posisi parkir tepat di tengah papan kecil bertuliskan dr. Maximus.
“Oomm....siomay...Oom...” seorang anak remaja menghampiri Maximus yang baru keluar dari pintu mobilnya. “
Ooh...” Maximus sedikit terkejut, kemudian ia menatap remaja tersebut, “berapa?” ia bertanya.
“Sepuluh ribu isi 5 Om” kata anak itu dengan penuh harap agar dagangannya dibeli.
“Ok...saya beli 2 ya,” Maxi mengambil siomay tersebut dan menyerahkan uang Rp. 20.000,-.
Kemudian anak itu segera berlalu meninggalkan Maxi sendiri yang termenung memandanginya hingga menghilang di ujung jalan. Sambil memegang bungkusan siomay yang masih hangat, ia teringat masa kecil dulu. Saat ayahnya bersusah payah mengantarnya naik sepeda ke sekolah dengan membawa panci-panci berisi siomay di tangan kiri dan kanannya.

Tiba-tiba, kriiingggg.....kriinngg... “hallo...tuan Maxi?” terdengar suara seorang perempuan di ujung telepon memanggilnya.
“Yaaa...sus... ada apa?” Maxi menjawab dengan sedikit khawatir mendengar suara suster yang merawat ayahnya.
“Bapak...Tuan...tadi mengeluh sakit kepala, dan muntah-muntah” suara suster itu terdengar kecil sekali, “dan Bapak tadi tanya tentang Tuan, apakah Tuan ada telepon hari ini? Mungkin dia kangen sama Tuan, karena semalaman Bapak tidak tidur, hanya melihat-lihat foto Tuan saja. Tadi siang Bapak minta dibelikan siomay di pinggir jalan” suster itu menjelaskan dengan sedikit gemetar.

* * * * *

Selama ini aku salah mengerti Papa, yang diinginkannya ternyata bukan uang, kebahagiaannya ternyata bukan karena aku berhasil menjadi dokter tapi kehadiranku yang nyata yang dinantikannya. Melihat kondisi Papa yang terbaring lemah dengan muka pucat dan sepiring siomay di samping kasur yang sudah menipis, air mataku menetes. Setengah berbisik aku berkata “maafkan Maxi Pa...Maxi terlalu sibuk,” aku berlutut di samping ranjang papa, memegang tangannya yang kurus. Lama aku berlutut dan menyesali diri, kenapa aku membiarkan hal ini terjadi dan tidak peduli dengan perasaan papa selama ini.

“Maxi...,” suara papaku terdengar pelan. “Kapan kamu datang?” tanyanya sambil berusaha bangkit dan mengelus kepalaku. “Papa senang bisa melihat kamu datang, maafkan papa yang selalu mengganggu kesibukan kamu ya,” katanya dengan nada menyesal. “Engga pa...Maxi yang minta maaf... Maaf sudah membuat papa sedih. Kemudian tangannya memegang erat tanganku, dan kami berdua tersenyum haru, dan aku berjanji tidak akan membiarkan papa sendiri lagi.

Selamat hari Ayah.

Skenario by: Raymundus

SIOMAY
Dituliskan kembali oleh: tintin kristiana untuk Buletin PAROUSIA

Doktrin Manusia

Doktrin Manusia

Siapakah itu manusia ?
Ada banyak manusia yang mempelajari jauh mendalam dan luas, mereka mampu mepelajari bintang yang berada nun jauh disana, mereka dapat mempelajari atom yang terkecil sekalipun namun mereka tidak mengenal akan dirinya sendiri. Mereka kehilangan akal bagaimana memahami diri mereka sendiri.

Ada banyak mereka mencari kekayaan namun mereka tidak mengenal akan diri mereka sendiri.

Siapa itu manusia ?
- Ciptaan Tuhan yang tertinggi (mahkota ciptaan)
- Manusia diciptakan seturut gambar dan rupa Allah

Bagaimana pandangan dunia untuk mengenal diri ?

Ada sebuah fabel mengenai seekor angsa yang hanya memiliki sayap yang kecil namun peri memberikan sayap yang besar namun sayap itu terbuat dari lilin. Peri ini berpesan jangan terlalu mendekat dengan matahari karena lilinnya akan leleh. Adapun demikian sang angsa lupa ketika dia terbang tinggi dan mendekat dengan matahari namun dia akhir jatuh karena sayapnya meleleh.

Manusia ketika lupa akan dirinya maka dia tidak tahu bagaimana dia dapat hidup

John Calvin pengenalan diri tidak terlepas dari pengenalan akan Allah.

Manusia tidak dapat memiliki pengenalan diri yang benar kalau dia tidak mengenal Allah.

Kalau tidak ada matahari maka kita tidak dapat melihat karena kegelapalan, dengan adanya matahari yang menyinari maka kita dapat melihat diri kita.

Bagaimana metode orang orang dunia untuk mengenal dirinya ?

Antropologi mempelajari manusia dibagi menjadi 2 yaitu individu dan sosial. yang mempelajari individu terbagi menjadi 2 mempelajari mengenai tubuh dan jiwa.

Metode yang dipakai adalah metode empiris.
yaitu hipotesa (suatu ide) kemudian diuji lewat dari pengamatan kemudian akan menjadi teori dan kemudia kalau dapat diterima secara luas maka dikatakan hukum.

yang ditekankan adalah observasi dan eksperimen. Kita membuat suatu ide, pendapat kemudian pendapat tersebut harus diuji kebenaran.

Apa kelemahan metode empiris ?
- Terbatas pada pengamatan faktual (terbatas pada yang dapat diraba rasakan) What is ? What ought ?
hanya dapat mengerti apa yang terjadi sekarang ini, bukan mengerti apa yang seharusnya.

- Terlalu banyak faktor yang tidak dapat dikondisikan, banyak faktor yang mempengaruhi yang tidak dapat dikontrol.

- Hipotesa bisa membawa pada suatu kesimpulan yang salah.

- Waktu kita mengamati manusia ada pencampuran antara objek dengan subjek. Manusia mengamati manusia yang tidak mengetahui siapa dirinya. Manusia mengamati manusia dengan cara pikir manusia.

Dapatkah kita mengenal diri kita dengan cara seperti ini ?

Bagaimana dengan metologi Kristen kita mengenal diri kita ?

Dengan pewahyuan. Kalau kita mau tahu siapa diri kita maka seharusnya kita bertanya kepada Tuhan pencipta kita. barulah kita mengetahui apa tujuan kita hidup.

Mazmur 19 : Tuhan memberikan pewahyuan kepada manusia ini menjadi dua yaitu wahyu umum dan wahyu khusus.

Pemazmur melihat alam, kemudian dia mempelajari akan firman Tuhan dan kemudian merenungkan akan dirinya.

Lewat dari ciptaan yang lain kita mengenal diri. Lewat dari firman Tuhan dan Firman yang Tuhan hidup kita mengenal siapakah diri kita ini.

Firman Tuhan yang menjelma manusia, Wahyu khusus yang berbicara dan Kristus menjadi gambaran sebagaimana manusia seharusnya menjadi. Dia menjadi gambaran yang seharusnya manusia menjadi. Menjadi yang sulung.

Hal yang paling jelas untuk dapat mempelajari manusia adalah melalui wahyu khusus.

kita tidak dapat menggunakan pikiran kita yang sudah jatuh dalam dosa untuk mengerti bagaimana manusia seharusnya itu.

Ketika jatuh dalam dosa kita kehilangan arah, kehilangan pandangan, kehilangan kaca mata untuk dapat memandang dirinya, manusia berada dalam kegelapan. Manusia hanya dapat memahami sebagian akan dirinya namun bukan memahami secara benar akan dirinya sendiri.

oleh karena itu untuk dapat kembali memahami siapakah manusia dan tujuan hidupnya. Manusia harus kembali pada kehidupan dimana Tuhan menjadi pusatnya.

Yang menjadi masalah sekarang ini adalah kehidupan kita yang berpusat kepada diri. Langkah langkah yang harus kita ambil untuk memusatkan diri kepada Tuhan adalah dengan terus makin mengenal akan Tuhan, dan hari demi hari menyangkal diri.

Jadikanlah Tuhan menjadi pusat dalam kehidupan ini.

Sifat Tuhan adalah bijaksana, kudus, kebenaran

kita sebagai gambar dan rupa Allah, kita memiliki potensi memiliki akal, manusia memiliki kesadaran moral, manusia memiliki kebenaran.

Dalam hal ini manusia memiliki fungsi sebagai : nabi, Imam dan raja

Dari sebelum kejatuhan pun manusia memiliki fungsi sebagai seperti ini.

Kristus yang menjadi gambaran yang utuh dari nabi, Imam dan raja.

Peranan nabi adalah peranan dimana Tuhan menyatakan diriNYA lewat perantara yaitu nabi yang menyampaikan akan kebenaran Allah.

Peranan Imam adalah menghantar umatnya masuk ke dalam kekudusannya. Manusia haruslah menjaga kekudusan.

Dan peranan sebagai raja bertujuan untuk menegakan dalam kebenaran

Surviving & Thriving at Medical School

From Nucleus - October 2001 : (pp26-28)

Written by Mark Pickering

Medical training can be detrimental to our spiritual health. Mark Pickering suggests a few remedies.
One might think that medical school would be ideally suited to Christians. It offers the chance to study a fascinating subject, God's creation, along with a real opportunity to help those in need. However, for those that begin the course as Christians, many go cold in their faith and emerge from house jobs cynical, materialistic and virtually indistinguishable from their non-Christian colleagues, even abandoning their faith altogether. One leader put this figure as 60% for his group.[1] This is a sad statistic that should sober us.

Nucleus has carried a similar article before,[2] but a new academic year gives us chance to look at the topic a g a i n . We will consider particular pitfalls before offering some guidelines.

Pitfalls at medical school
A new environment
Being away from home gives us the opportunity to try new things, meet new people and establish our own identity. Whilst this in itself is not negative, it is very easy to be overly concerned with fitting in and being the person others like, rather than whom God wants.

Many of us have been brought up in Christian homes. But at medical school your history is unknown and your new friends may not care a bit if you decide to forget it all.

Student culture
Sadly this is not conducive to growing as a disciple of Christ. When the status symbols are alcohol intake and number of sexual partners, the possibilities for compromise are vast and easily fallen for.

Intellectual influences
University is a melting pot of different teachings and ideologies, from which we may have previously been sheltered. Philosophical naturalism (the idea that physical matter is all there is) underpins virtually all the teaching we receive. Medical ethics is often presented without reference to any external, transcendent standards, making it totally subjective.

We will meet passionate believers of a whole range of religions and philosophies, some of which we may never have heard of before. As we are asked difficult questions about our faith that we have seldom considered, we can end up confused and shaken, or believing that all roads lead to God and that all truth is relative.

Work
If you haven't already discovered, there is a lot to do! This of course is necessary, but we will be tempted to idolise our medicine. Idolatry is to accord any created thing the value and worship that should be given only to God himself. This neatly describes the attitude that many of our colleagues have to medicine.

The nature of the work is also relevant. Dealing with death and disease on a daily basis can leave us cynical and hardened as we struggle to cope with our own mortality and that of those around us.

All of these influences combine to wear us down gradually and unless attended to, we will either slowly harden or live fragmented lives, where our Sunday religious thoughts bear very little resemblance to our daily working mentality.

Survival skills
So much for some of the potential problems. We need to know what we can do in order to emerge from finals not only as good doctors but strong believers, having thrived in our faith during medical school.

Establish your Christian identity
Early on, be seen to be a Christian. If we are known as such it is harder to fall into compromise in terms of morals or denying Jesus. The longer we wait, the harder it becomes to let people know what we stand for.

Maintain your devotional life
Devote regular time to God and guard it jealously. Pray alone and with friends, especially if Christians are in your accommodation area. Study the Bible systematically and make sure you are applying it to daily life. Read other great Christian books that will challenge your thinking and lifestyle. Join the CU and also a local church - the CU is not a church and can't give you all that a good church can.

Share your faith
Whether to your friends or through organised CU/church evangelism, this is crucial to spiritual vitality. We may not all be evangelists, but we have the duty and joy of being a witness as and when we can. There is nothing better to ensure our own growth.

Have other activities
'Much study wearies the body' 3 and this is true of the soul, too. We need a mix of real rest and leisure (not just TV). Make the time to commit yourself to something Christian outside of studies, be it social action, a mission organisation or church home group. This helps maintain our focus and avoid only being with medics.

Choose friends wisely
'Bad company corrupts good character',[4] so whilst it's good to have non-Christian friends, we must be careful that we are influencing them for good, not the other way around. We need Christian friends that will challenge us to know and serve God better.5 Also, it's important to have some older, mature believers that we can look up to for advice and example.

Manage time and money
If you're tempted to think you have no time as a student, hang on tight! It only gets worse, so it is vital that you learn to prioritise those things that are most important, cut out those things that are unimportant or detrimental and minimise faffing and procrastination.

Similarly, we may have less money now than after graduation, but all the more reason to manage what we have well. Then we will hear, 'you have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.' 6 If we establish a frugal life and regular giving pattern now then when we have more money we can put it to even better use. Remember the real 'health & wealth' gospel - the healthy thing to do is to be generous with your wealth![7]

Live an examined life
Medical audit is all the rage; it's about looking back at what you've done, seeing what went well, what went badly and how you can do it better. Spiritually this is also vital.[8] Be accountable to close friends and consider keeping a journal.

Conclusion
There is no time like that at university, especially for opportunities in evangelism. There are certainly real difficulties but remember that years of heat and pressure can either make coal dust or a diamond - it all depends on how you respond. The above points will help to maintain vitality as we look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
References
Pople A, Pye K. Guidelines 102. The Christian Doctor - An Endangered Species. London: CMF, 1988:2
Lyttle, T. Medical School - a danger to your faith! Nucleus 1998; October:28-31
Ec 12:12
1 Cor 15:33
Pr 13:20
Mt 25:21
See also Pickering M. Medical Student Debt. Nucleus 1998; January:26-30
Rom 12:3; 2 Cor 13:5

Planning your Career

From Nucleus - Summer 2008 : (pp34-37)
Written by Sam Leinster
My original intention in studying medicine was to become a missionary doctor because I had an implicit belief, shared by many people, that ‘full-time Christian work’ was somehow more spiritual than working as a Christian in a secular job. This, I have since realised, is an idea that has no scriptural basis.
The apostle Paul makes it very clear that we should approach our secular jobs as if we were working directly for Christ, not for our line managers.[1,2] All Christians are full time Christian workers called to be salt and light to the world around us.[3] I never became a missionary, but looking back I can see how God planned my career and prepared me for it.
During my undergraduate training I rotated through a number of different specialties. While I was on each attachment I was convinced that ‘this was the career for me’, whether it was psychiatry, obstetrics or general practice. I became a surgeon because the last attachment I did before finals was an elective in surgery (I reckoned surgery was going to be my weakest subject in finals so I thought the elective would be a good opportunity for revision).
The consultant, who clearly saw things in me that I didn’t, suggested that I should consider surgery as a career because I had the right attributes for it. What those were he didn’t specify but no other specialist had ever suggested that I was suited for their specialty so I applied for surgical training. I became interested in education because someone was needed to give lectures to the nurses and paramedics in the hospital where I worked and my boss volunteered me.
At no time did I ever imagine that I would one day become dean of a medical school and yet I am firmly convinced that this is where the Lord wants me to be. This leads me to ask, how are you supposed to make career choices? What criteria should be applied in making those choices? At first sight my haphazard approach to career planning should preclude me from giving advice to anyone else. But it does show that when God is doing the planning the outcome is better than we could manage for ourselves.
These are difficult times
The external challenges facing anyone attempting to plan a career today are immense. As I write this the House of Commons Health Committee has just published its findings on Modernising Medical Careers (MMC).[4] The report is highly critical of the way change was introduced, particularly the Medical Training Applications Service. Everyone is aware that selection into specialist training was a disaster last year and is still problematic this year. In fairness, it must be said that the application process for the Foundation Programme is now working smoothly.
The report also highlights the increasing rigidity of MMC. The original aim was to increase the flexibility of training but the opposite has happened and training programmes are more tightly defined than they have ever been in the past. At the same time, the choice of career path has to be made at an earlier stage (mid-way through Foundation Year 2) than was previously the case. For those fortunate individuals who have known since they entered medical school what specialty they wanted to enter, there is no problem but for the majority there is little opportunity to try a variety of careers before finally settling for definitive specialist training. Even though by finals I knew I wanted to do surgery I did not settle on my final subspecialty (surgical oncology) until I was a lecturer.
The situation is even more uncertain for those who will qualify in 2010 and after. The Tooke Report [5] suggests further changes to postgraduate training. Some of the changes have been accepted by the government but others are still open for discussion. There is even debate going on about the need to introduce a national examination, either at the end of medical school or some time during the Foundation Years, that could be used to inform decisions about selection for training. How this would work is entirely unclear.
There are valid arguments for having aptitude testing as part of the selection process (eg are prospective surgeons good at making decisions on incomplete evidence?), but little evidence that academic ability predicts ability in a particular specialty. Should the people with the lowest marks get the best jobs on the grounds that they need more attention paid to their training?
Given these difficulties, how do you decide what career you are going to follow? We will look at this from two perspectives – firstly, the Christian principles that govern our choices and secondly, how we apply those principles in practice.
Christian principles
1. We are not free to make our own choices
As Christians we acknowledge the lordship of Christ,[6] which means that we must follow his instructions. Paul reminds us that ‘You are not your own; you were bought at a price’,[7] the corollary of which is ‘Therefore honour God with your body’.[8] In other words, all of our actions must be focussed on what God wants of us.
2. God has a plan for us
God clearly told the Israelites who were in exile ‘I know the plans I have for you’.[9] The New Testament confirms that God has a plan for us as Christians.[10]
3. God directs us if we are willing
Wondering if we are doing God’s will can give rise to severe anxiety. There are reams of books written on the subject of seeking guidance and following God’s will. We can be left with the impression that discerning God’s will is difficult and that it requires special spiritual exercises. God has promised that he will guide us. In fact, God tells us that while we plan, it is in the end he who decides what happens.[11,12]
4. Our central objective is to glorify God
It is important to remember that what we do in our professional life is secondary to our primary purpose of glorifying God,[13] but it is still an important part of that purpose.[14]
5. The church is the body of Christ
God has entrusted us with the task of doing his work on earth. It is through us that he brings help to those in need and extends his kingdom. He has given each of us specific gifts that are to be applied for the benefit of the body.15 As Christians our plans must be focussed on what we can contribute to the overall mission of the Church. This includes ‘caring for the sick’[16] but obviously extends much wider.
applying the principles
1. Pray about it
If we are honest, what we often do is ask God to make our plans happen. This is not prayer. Praying about your career is asking God to make his plans happen.[17] It would be very comforting if he would show us the whole game plan (eg ‘you will become president of the Royal College of Physicians and receive a knighthood for services to medicine’ or ‘you will work as a missionary in Brazil and see a great revival sweeping through your district’). But God guides us one step at a time: ‘The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.’[18] This means that prayer about your career path has to be a continual exercise, not just something you do when you are applying for a job. On a practical note, it is very helpful to get a friend or friends to pray with you.
2. Examine your gifts
If you find psychiatry particularly enjoyable but struggle with dermatology, it is unlikely that the Lord is calling you to be a dermatologist. It is worthwhile talking to other people about what they see as your strengths. Sometimes colleagues or tutors will have a clearer idea of what you are suited to than you do yourself.
3. Learn about the options
Talk to people who are already following the career that you are interested in. Take time to go to careers fairs and exhibitions. Search the web for information. The National Health Service has a web page,[19] as does the British Medical Association [20] and each of the medical royal colleges.[21-23] There are books about medical careers but they rapidly go out of date as the career paths change. They can, however, give you an overview of what careers are available and what they entail. BMJ Careers provides more up to date information on particular topics. If you are contemplating working overseas for a period, contact the CMF international team (overseas@cmf.org.uk). They have an enormous amount of information and experience that they can share.
4. Make your choices
At some point you have to complete the application form and send it off. You cannot procrastinate forever. At this point you may be overcome by another attack of anxiety, wondering if you have made the right decision. Relax. If you believe God is guiding then you can accept that if it is his will for you to get the job you will, and if it isn’t you won’t.
5. No substitute for hard work
As medical students, you have a responsibility to God and your future patients to be diligent in your studies. If you believe God is calling you to a particular field, act in faith and take the necessary steps. For example, take opportunities to acquire relevant research experience (eg helping out with a project) and qualifications (eg PhD or MD) if you are pursuing an academic career.
No job offers?
It is difficult enough trying to decide what career path to follow. It is worse when every job application results in a rejection. This is the time to reassess your plans. When I was leaving the Royal Air Force (RAF), I applied for eight senior registrar posts and did not get short listed for any. With only two months to go before my RAF job finished I reassessed the situation and applied for a registrar post instead. I was invited for interview but did not get the job. Instead I was offered a one year post as locum lecturer which set me off on an academic career. What looked at the time like a difficult situation turned out to be an important part of God’s plan. The apostle Paul reminds us that ‘in everything God is working for the good of those who love him’. He goes on in the same chapter to remind us that nothing ‘…will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’[24]
Remember God has a purpose for your life and true success is fulfilling that purpose whatever it turns out to be. You may become famous in medical circles; you may become well-known in Christian circles; you may live in total obscurity. What matters in God’s eyes is that you are faithful in the tasks he gives you and make full use of the opportunities he sends you to extend his kingdom.[25]

References

1. Eph 6:5-8


2. Col 3:22-24


3. Mt 5:13-16


4. www.tinyurl.com/6ctwts


5. www.tinyurl.com/36kcdt


6. 1 Pet 3:15


7. 1 Cor 6:19,20


8. 1 Cor 6:20b


9. Je 29:11a


10. Eph 1:11


11. Pr 16:9


12. Pr 19:21


13. Rom 15:6


14. 1Cor 10:31


15. 1 Cor 12:7


16. Mt 25:36


17. Pr 3:5,6


18. Ps 37:23 New Living Translation


19. www.tinyurl.com/5l797n


20. www.tinyurl.com/6fe7xe


21. www.tinyurl.com/5qr5l4


22. www.tinyurl.com/65rqpv


23. www.rcseng.ac.uk/career


24. Rom 8:28-39


25. Mt 25:16

Portfolio Careers

From Triple Helix - Summer 2006 : (pp14-15)
Written by Rachael Pickering
Rachael Pickering looks at this increasingly popular career pathway
Key Points
Charles Handy, Oxbridge management guru, coined the term portfolio career in the late eighties. It describes a CV made up of several careers rather than one full-time job. Doctors are beginning to branch out into portfolio careers, and several CMF members have very successful ones. Advantages include flexibility, family time, and job satisfaction; disadvantages include unpredictability and financial uncertainties. Everyone’s career and talents are unique and there are many different ways of developing a satisfying and manageable portfolio career. The opportunities to serve God through portfolio work are endless.
They are the latest fashion accessories for medical CVs. But what exactly is a portfolio career? Why would you want one? And how can you get one?
Job for life?
Even within the relatively stable working environment of the medical world, there has been a move away from the traditional ‘one job for life’. It is no longer rare for GP partners and consultants to move practice or hospital. Going a step further and diversifying, many doctors are acquiring more than one string to their medical bows by carving out portfolio careers for themselves.
The eighteenth century Italian word portafoglio describes as a folder used to carry around loose paper and drawings, hence modern day artists’portfolios. Today though, it has come to mean the collection of an individual’s talents and skills.[1]
The concept of a portfolio career is attributed to Charles Handy, Oxbridge management guru and social philosopher.[2] In the late eighties, he predicted that workers would start to want more active control of their careers by having lots of small jobs.[3] And indeed, although Handy didn’t specifically mention medical careers in his prediction, NHS portfolio doctors are becoming less of a rarity.[4] And within CMF, several members are putting their bulging portfolios to use for the Kingdom of God.
Ministering surgeon
Until recently, Hugh Thomson was a full time consultant upper GI surgeon. Now he works one day a week for the NHS doing endoscopies:
I spend the rest of my time as a pastor at Birmingham City Church. Combining roles is stimulating.Working in the NHS keeps my feet on the ground and gives me opportunities to share my faith. I do miss surgery and (to be perfectly honest) being important! But I have absolutely no regrets in making the change. I do think that my years in full time medical work have equipped me for pastoral ministry in a way that no Bible college could have done.
Hippocratic GP
GP Rhona Knight has found herself increasingly drawn towards the Hippocratic tradition of medical education:
After ten years of juggling GP partnership with the needs of my growing family, I resigned and became a salaried GP whilst seeking God’s guidance for my career. In my PDP (Professional Development Plan) I identified a love of teaching and a need to develop a special interest.
I became a GPwSI (GP with Special Interest) after obtaining a Diploma in Practical Dermatology, and have just finished an MA in Medical Education. I now find myself with a portfolio career that includes salaried GP work, undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, and a growing interest in bioethics and its communication to non-specialist audiences.
Looking back, I was always interested in teaching, but I didn’t know that this was what I’d end up doing. I’m much happier; life, though a bit of a juggling act, is so much more flexible.
Paediatric youthworker
Chris Richards combines being a Newcastle consultant paediatrician with disaster medicine and charity work:
In April this year I went part-time in order to work for Lovewise, a charity I started up that goes into schools and youth groups to talk about Christian perspectives on marriage, sex and relationships. I give class presentations, meet with headteachers, and write booklets. My clinical job helps gives me credibility with teachers, which is a big help!
I appreciate being able to serve the Lord in two very different ways. As a paediatrician I care for children and parents, whilst as director of Lovewise I use my creative gifts to change the hearts and lives of children.
Occasionally I go to refugee crises around the world, as I spent three years of my training working in refugee camps in Africa and Asia. My trust usually lets me go, and it usually continues to pay me!
Prime educator
Huw Morgan combines GP appraisal work with an international consultancy role in family medicine development and education:
I spend most of my time volunteering with Partnerships in International Medical Education (PRIME), a Christian charity linked to CMF.This involves many trips to developing countries but there’s also admin work to do back home. It is very exciting to have opportunities to present Christian truth as part of good medical practice to Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist healthcare workers, and to establish training programmes with Christian person-centred care at their core.
As a junior I could never have predicted that I would be doing this now. I always had an interest in overseas work but at that time thought only in terms of the traditional missionary doctor role.The world has changed, and teaching and empowering others in Christ’s name is very much the necessary 21st Century paradigm. I thoroughly recommend it!
Pros and cons
A portfolio career can get very complicated.Trevor Stammers’portfolio includes being a GP principal and tutor, writing for both religious and academic press, speaking at various events such as CARE, broadcasting, and writing books on his area of expertise, sexual health. On top of all this, he’s also studying for an MA in Bioethics:
The biggest problem I face is when my different careers collide: for example, my GP partners have to carry the can when I have to attend an urgent meeting regarding one of my other roles. In addition, two part time jobs can easily grow to become two fulltime jobs. So you have to prune them regularly! A separate problem is that others may doubt your commitment to their particular venture as you are ‘only part-time’. Accountability can be non-existent in all or some spheres of your life so you can get isolated, lonely and too remote. Family life, if not prioritised, can easily suffer too.
But, on the other hand, a portfolio career can be enormously invigorating. One job may help to feed another. I find that my stress levels are lower because I have various interesting roles and don’t become preoccupied by one particular fulltime stress. And my family is better off with a happy portfolio doctor than with a miserable full time GP!
Random choice or divine calling?
It’s tempting to see our medical career paths as being down to good (or bad) luck or random chance. But many senior Christian medics look down the retrospectoscope and see that events which seemed random at the time were actually part of the Lord’s sovereign plan for their lives.
As Christians, how can we discern whether God is calling us down particular career pathways? It’s so easy to fret over career moves but the apostle Paul advises otherwise: ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God’.[5] On occasion, it may be appropriate to lay down the odd fleece.[6] Often it’s wise to seek general guidance from the Bible, and then push a few doors.[7]
Interested?
Although it’s vitally important to get thoroughly trained in your major specialty of interest, it’s never too early to start exploring more diverse career options. Most portfolio doctors diversify their careers as seniors but early opportunities do come along to some juniors.
Consider your talents and skills, and your career so far. What do you enjoy most about medicine? Is there anything you can’t bear? Have there been any twists in your career plan so far? Do you have training in more than one speciality? Consider also your personality, lifestyle and family. Not everyone can cope with the downsides of portfolio careers.
Sometimes though, simply looking at your CV doesn’t help diverse career paths spring to mind. Another way of looking at your career is to map out your life and employment history as a flow chart on a large piece of card. Remember to mark in all the co-existing factors in your life – children and spouse, hobbies and time constraints, strengths and weaknesses, and don’t forget your ambitions. Show it to a couple of trusted friends, a non-medic as well as a fellow doctor, and ask where they think your strengths and weaknesses lie.
At the end of the day, most doctors will continue to pursue traditional career pathways. But, no matter how many careers end up in our portfolios, may all our career choices work together for the glory of our Lord.[8]
Portfolio benefits

• Combine hobbies with professional talents
• Family benefits
• Flexibility
• Home working opportunities
• Satisfaction
• Self-determination
• Sense of freedom

Portfolio problems

• Ego sacrifices
• Financial consequences
• Juggling acts
• Peer criticism
• Uncertainty

References

1. www.worldwidewords.org/topicalwords/tw-por1.htm


2. www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/work/handy/handybiography.shtml


3. Handy C. The Age of Unreason. London: Business Books, 1989


4. Lwanda J. BMJ Career Focus 2003; 327:118


5. Philippians 4:6


6. Judges 6:14-40


7. Psalm 119:105


8. 1 Corinthians 10:31

Time Management : Jesus Style

by Peter Sunders

A famous CMF one-liner that I often quote is this: 'As medical students you have more time now than at any time in your life.' But in fact, it's not true; everyone has 168 hours in each week and 52 weeks in each year. You may have more discretionary time that isn't already committed; but you have exactly the same amount of time as everyone else. The real question is how you use it.
As we grow older it seems that time goes faster and faster; but in reality we are simply coming to realise more and more how precious time is. Our time on this earth is limited and goes quickly; most of us get about 70 years.[1]
But we should always be ready for our deaths, or Christ's return,[2] and plan our priorities accordingly. The reason that God doesn't take us to himself immediately when we are converted is that we have a job to do here.
Our principal tasks are to bring him glory by living holy lives and making disciples.
The Great Commandment and the Great Commission
Jesus replied: '”Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.'[3]
'Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.'[4]
These are to be our overriding principles of living and everything we do should be ultimately measured by how far it accords with these. But we all have different roles to play in the body of Christ, which will further determine the overall direction of our lives and indeed the different directions we take each day. We need to know our place in the body of Christ,[5-7] so that we can use what skills and gifts God has given us.[8]
God gives each of us a certain amount of time. As the Psalmist tells us, 'All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be'.[9] Have you really taken on board the fact that God had your whole life worked out even before the world began?
But even more than that, he has prepared ahead of time the things that he wants us to do: 'For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.'[10] Do you wake up in the morning and ask the Lord: 'What is it that you have prepared in advance for me to do today?'
The Australian Baptist Minister, Rowland Croucher, said, 'You have enough time to do everything God wants you to do. If you haven't enough time you are doing something that God does not want you to do'. I believe that's true, but it may also be that you are not organising yourself as effectively as you might.
Competing time demands are an inevitable part of life. I would suggest that those who don't grapple with competing time demands are simply not taking their Christian responsibilities seriously. Jesus grappled with competing time demands but he was the master of time management.
The master of time
When Jesus called his disciples he had two purposes in mind: 'He appointed twelve – designating them apostles – that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach'.[11] Firstly they were to be with Jesus - to have an intimate relationship with him; secondly, they were to be sent out into the world in ministry. These are our two purposes as well.
Jesus uniquely maintained a balance between worship, prayer, family, friends, work and rest. To do this, he kept an intimate relationship with God and he had a clear view of his life task; he is our model. In preparing this, I spent time going through the Gospels looking at his example and these are the ten points I came up with.
1. Jesus guarded his devotional life
Jesus regularly spent time in prayer and in studying the Scriptures, especially during periods of intense activity. After a long evening of healing that extended after sunset we read that, 'Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.'[12]
He prayed regularly and especially before each important decision, such as choosing the disciples, embarking on his public ministry, feeding the 5,000 and facing his arrest in the garden of Gethsemane. He also withdrew to pray after periods of exhausting ministry. To junior doctors embarking on a career of ministering to the sick, I regularly quote the verses, '...crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.'[13]
The more he worked, the more he prayed. He recognised that he needed to spend time communing with God to refresh himself. I think that God often creates the delays and stoppages in our busy lives; the red lights and traffic jams, so that we might have the opportunity to pray.
Similarly he was immersed in the Word of God - so much so that when the Devil challenged him in the wilderness, he could answer with three quotations from the book of Deuteronomy; a book that many of us could not easily find, let alone be familiar with.[14]
Let me encourage you to be readers and students of the Bible; to make it one of your first priorities. Do you have a reading plan and a pocket Bible you can dip into when opportunities arise? Have you read the Bible once through yet? Make your Bible reading a pleasure and not a chore, for it is time with God.
2. Jesus did not sin
It is sin that weakens our witness more than anything else; it consumes our energies and our thoughts and it distracts us from our calling. In particular, there are the sins of the mind, what the church fathers called the seven deadly sins: pride, gluttony, lust, anger, envy, sloth and greed. How many of our idle moments are spent indulging in these? Sin begins from within, and even if it never translates into action, it paralyses and distracts us. A mind preoccupied with any of these is not a mind tuned to the purposes of God.
We need to be clean right through; and much as it may seem impossible we have God's promise. Because Jesus suffered and he was tempted in all the ways we are, he is able to help us resist temptation.[15,16] Jesus did not sin by commission or omission; he did the things he ought to have done and he did not do the things he ought not to have done. By cutting wrong thoughts and behaviours out of our lives, we find that we have more time and energy to be used by God.
3. Jesus was not driven by the expectations of others
Everyone had their own agenda for Jesus. His family wanted to slow him down because they were embarrassed by the attention he was attracting, but the crowds wanted to make him king. The zealots wanted him to lead a revolution; the Pharisees wanted to shut him up; and the sick wanted to be healed. Despite all these pressures, Jesus did not let demands from others,[17] even loved ones,[18,19] control how he spent his time - nor was he put off by criticism and threats.[20]
When we face the demands of patients, their relatives, managers, consultants, family and society - we need to remember who we are actually serving. Colossians 3:24 reminds us that it is the Lord Christ we are serving. While this service will lead us to serve others in his name, Jesus is the one who ultimately dictates the terms. His will takes priority and at times this means making choices that those around us may not understand or respect.
4. Jesus had a clear strategy
Whether we are talking about a church, commercial company, organisation or individual - each has a mission statement summing up their overall purpose. We find Jesus' mission statement in his sermon to his own community at Nazareth where he quoted from the prophet Isaiah:
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.[21]
I spent more time analysing this statement and applying it to medicine in a previous Nucleus article.[22] But here, it's important to note that Jesus, in quoting from Isaiah 61:1,2, deliberately stopped in the middle of a verse. Everyone in the synagogue stared at him because they knew how it ends. Jesus chose to omit the words '(to proclaim) the day of vengeance of our God'.[23] He was signposting the separation, in time, of the day of salvation and the day of judgment. The Messiah came first to save through his death on the cross; then he will return to judge.
What separates the two comings is the era of the church. I believe the church is expected to follow Christ in the living out of this mission statement. Indeed, if we look at his commission to the twelve disciples,[24] we see this instruction to preach and to heal, and the book of Acts reflects this.
Jesus' strategy involved an overall purpose (to save the lost), and a plan to achieve that purpose (his ministry, death and resurrection). The plan was worked out in stages: there was a time of preparation such that he could say with conviction to his mother at the wedding in Cana, 'My time has not yet come'.[25] There was a time of ministry, 'Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else – to the nearby villages - so that I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”'[26] And there was a time of passion, '“We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law.'[27]
In the same way we need to have an overall purpose and vision in line with our own calling within the body of Christ and we need a plan to get us to that end-point. We, like Jesus, need a strategy. We have to take control of our lives by choosing to obey God in the same way Jesus did.
5. Jesus established priorities
It is true that Jesus fulfilled everything in his mission statement, but he had a priority. This is clear from many passages in the Gospels. After a busy day of healing and casting out demons, people pressed him to stay, 'But he said, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.”'[28] His prime concern was the preaching of the gospel, which took precedence over all his other ministries.[29]
One of the devil's primary tactics is to distort our priorities so that ministering to the sick, calling for justice, or compassion for the poor take priority over evangelism. These are important and part of the expression of the kingdom, but they were not Jesus' first priority.
Jesus also prioritised people. He spent a disproportionate amount of time with those who would carry on his ministry. There were the 70, the twelve and the three. Although he often spent considerable time with other individuals, these groups were those who had his consistent attention.
There are many priorities given in the Bible: the gospel over healing; family over community; and brother in Christ over non-Christian friend. For each of us, the priorities will be different depending on the gifts he has given us and the situation he has placed us in. But for each of us, there are certain activities and people God wants us to prioritise.
6. Jesus made time for individuals
In the midst of Jesus' busy ministry, he did not let the urgent crowd out the important. As a surgeon I find the story of the woman with the haemorrhage very challenging. Jesus was on the way to see someone who was critically ill with an acute infection, and he was stopped by a woman with long-standing menorrhagia.[30] She got his full attention and then, as if to vindicate his decision, God enabled him to raise Jairus' daughter from the dead.
We need to be ready to pause with certain individuals that God brings across our path. The Gospel encounters are made up of a string of accounts of individuals whom Jesus paused with. He did not pause with everyone; he healed only one man at the pool of Siloam,[31] he spoke only to one Samaritan at the well,[32] only one rich young ruler, only one tax collector - but he did make time for these individuals.[33]
In your time at medical school and your ministry as doctors, you will not be able to spend time with everybody. Rather, you ought to pray that God will show you the people that he wants you to pause with. You may learn something from them or give the touch and say the words that transform their lives.
7. Jesus equipped others
Jesus did not feel that he had to meet all the need himself. Throughout his entire ministry, he probably travelled no further than 200 miles from the place he was born. His strategy was not to do all the work himself but to devote time to equipping others; through training, envisioning and delegation.
We should always be asking how we can multiply the ministries God has given us by involving others. If we are given a choice between doing something ourselves or teaching someone else to do it, we should go for the latter. The effectiveness of a ministry is not only measured by what is achieved but also by what carries on after the key person leaves.
This can be particularly hard for us in the medical profession. Many of us are independent pioneers and loners; but God wants us to equip others to do our work so that the work multiplies. We may find that those we equip end up doing a far better job than we did. We will certainly find that passing the baton on will mean that God opens up new avenues of ministry for us. Jesus' response to seeing the fields ripe for harvest was not to encourage the disciples to work harder to bring it in, but to pray that God would raise up more workers.[34]
8. Jesus chose his company
We become like those we choose to spend our time with, 'Bad company corrupts good character.'[35] Who should we be spending our time with? We've already dealt with this problem in part. Jesus spent his ministry years with the needy and those who would carry on his task.[36,37]
Nevertheless he spent his formative years with the wise. We see him in the temple asking questions and listening.[38] Do you notice how many of the men and women God used in biblical history spent a period of their lives as understudy to some role model? Think of Joshua and Moses, Elisha and Elijah, or Timothy and Paul.
Latch on to those older Christians you can really learn from. Study their behaviour, their lifestyles, their priorities, their strategies and prayer lives. Read the biographies of men and women, of doctors that God has really used. I am not asking you to idolise them; the more you get to know them, the more you will see their frailties and failings. But seek to learn what it is that makes them effective in God's service and emulate it.
9. Jesus recognised the need for rest
Jesus was not legalistic about the Sabbath but rather he recognised its true purpose.[39] At times he healed on the Sabbath; he implied that one should respond to emergencies on the Sabbath. He respected the Sabbath, but recognised that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.[40-42]
He realised that it was important to withdraw and rest, even in the face of pressing need. We also need to rest, relax and withdraw; we need to allocate time to chill out. How we spend it will depend on our own personality. The important thing is that we take time out altogether from work and ministry at regular intervals.
Burnout is a major problem for Christian doctors who are motivated by a strong sense of responsibility and who are aware of the vast amount of unmet need. But the danger of burnout is that the more tired one gets, the less insight one has into one's state of exhaustion.
10. Jesus was never idle
Whilst recognising the need for rest, Jesus was never idle or slothful. Rather he packed his life full of more activity than was possible to record.[43] Jesus kept long hours and he went for it.
Hard work brings God glory because in working hard we are emulating God who himself works. Read through the Gospel of Mark to see how often the word 'immediately' appears when describing Jesus' actions. He was always on the move from one activity to another, although busyness is not a virtue in itself. It is important to work smart - but that should not stop us working hard.
It's important that we think of all service to God as work, not just paid employment. Spending time with our families and friends is just as much work in God's service. It is part of our obligation to God; the person who neglects his or her family in supposed Christian service is not bringing him glory. There is no-one apart from you who can be a husband to your wife, a wife to your husband, a parent to your children or a child to your parents.
Paul tells us that, 'If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.'[44] And surely that provision must not be just material, but emotional and spiritual as well.
Some practical tips
As well as seeking a godly mindset, we can also use some practical techniques that Jesus himself may have employed. He would have been working smart as well as working hard. For each of us, there are times of the day where we can concentrate best. Make the most of these! We are only working at 80% of our effectiveness for 20% of the time. For 80% of the time, we are only at 20% effectiveness. In addition, develop an effective filing system and bin stuff regularly. Clutter slows you down!
Procrastination can be costly in the long run, so it is important not to make it a habit.[45] Even when you manage to start a task, distractions can slow you down and stop you from finishing the job. Be honest with yourself – can you really focus on writing that essay while reading the news online? We all have spare moments that can be used more effectively. Instead, you could read the newspaper while waiting for your bus.
My prayer is that we would learn from Jesus to use our time in a way that most glorifies God. But don't let worries about time management consume you. Trust God, for his grace is all sufficient; his Spirit lives and works in you.