The Cure of Souls

Counseling is a booming industry. There are so many availing themselves of the advertised benefits of sitting down with a counselor and getting life squared away. Did you know that back in the day this sort of thing wasn't called 'counseling' and 'counselors' didn't do it? Back in the day it was called the cure of souls, and it was something that pastors did. 

I suspect that too many people do not notice the significance of the words we use in this or that situation. Words can hold subtle meanings - nuances - that many miss. 'Counseling' carries with it certain assumptions. One of these assumptions is built into the word 'counsel'. What is that? It's advice. The role of the counselor is to offer advice - ideas - to the person he/she is counseling. This assumes that the problem has to do with how the person being counseled thinks, how he or she thinks about life or at least one part of it, the part that is causing problems. So, the problem, according to this way of thinking, is in the mind. 

Using the language of the cure of the soul also carries assumptions. For one thing, the problem isn't, first and foremost, in the mind. Oh, to be sure, there are thoughts that need to be changed. But the root of the problem is elsewhere. The root of the problem is in the soul. (Sadly, there isn't much talk about the soul these days, even among Christians.) If the problem is in the soul, then merely changing some ideas in the mind won't result in a solution. It's the soul that needs to be dealt with. And who can do that but the Spirit of God. The pastor (back in the day, called 'the physician of the soul') wielding the Scriptures would be the main - but not the only - tool that the Spirit would use. So, the mind is involved. The ideas of the Scriptures need to be known and grappled with. But that happens on the way to the Spirit dealing with the soul and changing it. And when the soul is changed then there is a solution to the problem. 

So, what does this mean? It is true that counseling can help in certain kinds of situations. Sometimes all you need is a little advice. But the really serious problems of life cannot be touched by simply adjusting some ideas. What is needed is the ministry of the Spirit touching the soul.