Well being for ministers

We are all motivated people. We have been called by God and there can be no higher motivation than that. But such a vocation can have a downside. 

Being called by God implies for many of us the self sacrificing service that Kipling described in his poem "IF"  The verse

  If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
    To serve your turn long after they are gone,
    And so hold on when there is nothing in you
    Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'
or
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
    With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
 
are recipes for burn out and heart attacks!

This sort of self sacrifice has been expected of those who serve in the church for a long time. Recall the prayer of Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits ....

Teach us, good Lord, to serve thee as thou deservest;

to give, and not count the cost;

to fight, and not to heed the wounds;

to toil, and not to seek for rest;

to labour, and not to ask for any reward,

save that of knowing that we do thy will;

It was selfless dedication like this that built empires and spread the Christian message over the whole world. But such self sacrifice ca destroy relationships and family life, damage health and bring premature death.

Our calling from God to give ourselves selflessly which we renew every year in the covenant service or at ministerial synod at our service of re-dedication needs to be tempered with Jesus words reminding us that we have to love ourselves if we are ever to manage to love our neighbours. Most Christians, especially protestants, feel gulty about loving themselves.

The bottom line is that we need balanced lives. John Biggs wrote of the juggling we do:
 
"Take a note of the balls you are juggling. As you keep your work, health, family, friends, and spirit in the air remember that work is a rubber ball and will bounce back if you drop it. All the rest are made of glass; drop one of them and it will be irrevocably scuffed, tarnished or even smashed."   

When juggling you have to know what you can drop safely and what will break is not handled with care. Each of us may have different answers but we need to know. 




(The talk I gave at the Ministerial synod today...)