Christ My Social Worker

PRIMITIVE godliness is what I want to achieve," said Brother Leonard Gomes as he led out one night at prayer meeting, "primitive godliness."

Through a series of texts* Brother Gomes demonstrated that our lifetime goal is to develop an intimate relationship with Christ through Bible study of Him and with Him, so that we can sit at the feet of Jesus. In order to work with Christ, and in order for Him to work through us, an intimate relationship must be developed by personal, regular, and systematic Bible study. We must pray and talk with God at all times. Our relationship with Christ demands total involvement.

A Comparison

Social workers base their entire practice on developing relationships. If the client and the social worker have a relationship of trust and knowledge, they can begin to make changes to solve problems. This means that two or more people must form some foundation for change before change can be made. What an exemplary social worker is Christ! He builds a relationship with us. We in turn sit at His feet and work toward a relationship with Him. Then changes take place easily. We can observe Christ's warm relationship with His disciples and with those He met who needed help. The Gospels note constant dialogue between Christ and His disciples.

Christ Our Pattern

Christ had a special skill for knowing people readily and recognizing their strengths and weaknesses. Social workers also make social diagnoses and try to start where the client is. How remarkably Christ sized up the inner needs of the adulterous woman (John 8:3-11) and the woman at the well (John 4:6-26). How wonderfully He sizes us up and knows what satisfies our needs. The more we study His Word and share our problems with Him, the more we can work with Him. Then it is easy for us to understand His ideas. We already know He understands us (see Job 12:13).

Social workers emphasize use-of-self. This means the worker uses his own feelings and reactions to situations as a guide to evaluate the progress of problem solving and as a means of feedback to the client, so he knows how his behavior affects his social worker. How ably Christ uses Himself. He is always where the action is and is always involved. For instance, He let Himself be known when He overturned the tables of the moneychangers (Matt. 21:12-16). Sadly He let Peter know of His knowledge of Peter's three-time denial (John 13:10, 11, 38), but He also shared His forgiveness and love (John 13:16, 17). He does the same with us. He has given us His Word so that we may know Him (John 6:68). He has given us over-all attendance of the Holy Spirit (John 15:26) and special an gels besides (Heb. 13:2). How much more broadly could Christ use Himself on our behalf? God's sacrifice of His Son for us is the ultimate and most concrete form of use-of-self (John 3:16).

Importance of Termination

No social work with a client is complete without planning for an ending. Termination wraps up the problem and concludes that particular phase of the helping relationship. Christ knew the importance of termination when He prepared the disciples for His death and return (John 13: 36). It is typical of human behavior to misunderstand and react to an impending separation. Note the disciples' reactions (John 13:37). Christ has also prepared a fitting termination for us when our problem days are over and the new earth is ours (Rev. 21:1). He makes a fitting termination to a day with a sunset (Gen. 1:5), and to a week with Sabbath (Ex. 16:26). And to our daily ups and downs with problems comes a termination with prayer and thanksgiving for our gain for change (Job 22:27-30). Termination is a mutual responsibility between client and worker.

Traditionally social workers work with individuals, groups, and communities. At all times the individual is the primary concern. Again we can see Christ's work in these three areas. He healed the daughter of a community ruler at the leader's faithful request (Matt. 9:18, 19). He formed a relationship, diagnosed the problem, started where the leader was, and helped him to make a change. He prepared the disciples to carry on the work of love after their leader was sacrificed (Acts 1:22). Christ exemplifies good group-work techniques to be sure. And Christ led out in community organization. Note the previously mentioned action with the money changers. Christ knew how to converse with leaders, get to the heart of the issue, and take desired action appropriately. So today Christ helps us in many ways some times with personal answers, sometimes with family answers, sometimes with church-community answers. His methods are those of an efficient and understanding social worker.

Choosing Christ's Methods

Today social workers more and more work with larger community issues as a way of meeting the needs of individuals. Christ has done that all along. He organizes around human issues of love and charity, forgiveness and humility, patience and longsuffering (1 Cor. 13). He promises that no one will go hungry, naked or shelterless (Matt. 6:24-34). Today He shows us the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). All along Christ has looked after the larger issues that make our choices and alternatives in life clear and apparent.

At the present time we find social workers tending toward outreach efforts. This means prevention and early problem solving. Social workers are seeking the trouble spots before they are crises. Of necessity, emphasis is also on more astute crisis intervention. When the woman brought an alabaster box of ointment to annoint Christ's feet when He came to eat with the Pharisees, Christ recognized a need immediately in spite of efforts of others to deprecate her humble efforts (Luke 7:36- 50). Upon His resurrection, Christ associated with the believers for a short time in anticipation of giving comfort and guidance to those who needed reassurance (Matt. 28:9-20). Christ also invited the overworked and burdened to come to Him for help (Matt. 11:28). The ultimate in outreach to all of us is God's sparing of His Son so that we can be saved. What an effort of outreach and crisis intervention! Because Christ cares we are released from sinful ways, assuming, of course, that all preceding steps have taken place relation ship, diagnosis, appropriate beginning, use-of-self, termination, and the correct techniques.

The over-all goals of social work are solving problems and effecting changes. The approach and techniques are all about problem solving in day-to-day incidents, large and small. Christ is our constant help in problem-solving work. When we sit at the feet of Jesus and practice primitive godliness, we do live as effective persons. We do solve problems appropriately with Christ as our social worker. Christ is the social workers' Social Worker.