What is soul care? What is care of the soul?

What is soul care? What is care of the soul?

According to the bible

It is common to refer to human beings as made up of body, soul, and spirit. Although human beings are integrated wholes, this division is a helpful way to refer to the three main components of human existence. The distinction is helpful, even though there is some debate over the separateness of the soul and spirit. Some theologians prefer to see humans as simply material and immaterial beings without a strict distinction between soul and spirit. It may be that the immaterial side simply has a “soul” aspect and a spiritual aspect rather than being two separate things—soul and spirit.

The body, though by no means simple, is the easiest part of a human to understand, and care of the body is also straightforward and easy to understand.

The spirit may be defined as the immaterial part of a human being that has the capacity to relate to God. A person, outside of Christ, is spiritually dead and unable to respond to God in an appropriate way (see Ephesians 2:1–6 and Romans 8:5–8).

The soul is the immaterial part of a human being that can respond to other people. In Greek the word for “soul” is psyche from which we get the word psychology. The soul involves the mind and emotions. It gives us the capacity to relate to others and to form bonds. It is our souls that respond to beauty and high ideals. People with healthy souls are capable of forming meaningful relationships, and people with unhealthy souls find it more difficult. Soul care is the attention given to healing a wounded soul or maintaining a healthy soul. In a Christian context, soul care is often linked to finding help to overcome temptations, fight addictions, and have peace with God.

At this point it is helpful once again to make a distinction between soul and spirit. Sin and spiritual death affect the whole person. Our bodies feel the effects of sin, and so do our souls. Some people have healthier souls than others and are thus better able to have healthy relationships. If a person with an unhealthy soul attends counseling or even enters into the treatment of a psychologist, he or she may be able to make changes that will improve personal relationships and the level of functioning in society. However, this improvement of the soul will not change a person’s eternal destiny, nor will it give him or her spiritual life. Likewise, a person who has become spiritually alive in Christ may still have a damaged soul and may be in need of soul care. Some believers have to work long and hard to overcome bad habits and destructive patterns. Such struggles often continue all of their lives.

Many people who speak of “spiritual life” or “spirituality” are really speaking of the wondrous capacities of the soul, apart from a relationship with God. Sometimes this is referred to as the “inner life.” These people are often speaking of an appreciation for beauty and wonder, as well as qualities like honesty, openness, and kindness, which are conducive to forming authentic relationships with other people. They speak of tranquility, inspiration, and self-confidence. While these may be attained in some measure apart from a relationship with God, the best medicine for an unhealthy soul is a healthy spirit—one that has been animated by the Holy Spirit through faith in Christ. Many in popular culture wrongly assume that the greatest need for mankind is soul care and that the “spiritual” is simply a tool for attaining inner peace and health in the realm of the soul.

Practices for caring for the soul, as those caring for the body, can be either biblical or unbiblical. Christians should avoid any practices of soul care that are unbiblical. Likewise, some practices for caring for the soul (meditation, listening to music, making restitution for wrongs done, de-cluttering one’s life, and performing random acts of kindness) may be based on common grace (see footnote) and therefore helpful without imparting spiritual life, just as some practices are helpful in caring for the body but do not yield a resurrection body.

God cares for the whole person, and soul care can be a valid ministry to others. We serve “the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3–4). The Lord wants to transform us and renew our minds (Romans 12:2). John’s short letter to Gaius expressed a godly concern for Gaius’s health: “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well” (3 John 1:2). Though the term soul care is never found in the Bible, John was certainly involved in form of soul care as he ministered to the Body of Christ.

Notes on common grace. Common grace pertains to the sovereign grace of God bestowed upon all of mankind regardless of their election. In other words, God has always bestowed His graciousness on all people in all parts of the earth at all time. “The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made” (Psalm 145:9).

Common grace is the restraint of sin in the life of the individual and in society. Common grace not only includes God’s restraining of evil, but also His sovereignly releasing it for His purposes. When God hardens the hearts of individuals (Exodus 4:21; Joshua 11:20; Isaiah 63:17), He does so by releasing His restraint on their hearts, thereby giving them over to the sin that resides there. In His punishment of Israel for their rebellion, God gave “them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices” (Psalm 81:11-12).