You need “three for three” to be a healthy human being …

Why does Scott Free Clinic offer a blend of pastoral care, Christian clinical counseling, and fitness consulting services? It’s because we believe in a holistic approach to healing and wholeness, which means addressing and caring for body, soul, and spirit.

Although human beings are spiritual beings, we live our lives through the vehicle of a physical body that is directed by a masterfully crafted (by God) mind. By God’s design, the spiritual, physical, and mental/emotional meld together to make us the individuals we are. So to be whole and healthy, we must care for each component.

Let me give you an example of how a holistic approach is needed for health and wholeness by sharing a simplified version of a real story of someone I’ve be acquainted with for a few years and is now suffering terribly.

Albert (not his real name) is a 30-something non-Christian Asian-American single male whose 94-year-old grandmother was recently hospitalized because of COVID-19, and his father was rushed to the hospital for what they thought was a problem with his heart. Albert’s grandmother is now on the mend and may be able to come home soon. The news isn’t as good for his father, who has been diagnosed with terminal bone marrow cancer and isn’t expected to live more than another month.

Because of these family crises, Albert has been unable to sleep very much, lacks appetite (“can’t” eat), and unable to concentrate on his work of managing a store. It’s clear that Albert is suffering at three levels: because he is not a Christian, he doesn’t have the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit to lead him through these life experiences, and he doesn’t experience the supernatural peace of Christ or the hope Jesus alone offers; his mind is consumed by non-stop negative thoughts and self-talk that generate corresponding emotions that foster fear, confusion, depression, and the feelings of being overwhelmed and “paralyzed”; and his body is demonstrating his stress and anxiety with physical tension, interruption of sleep, waning appetite, shallow breathing, and other physical symptoms.

Albert can make sure he gets physical exercise every day to help reduce the physical symptoms of stress and anxiety, and he could regain sleep and force himself to make sure he has adequate, solidly nutritious meals daily — but all of that wouldn’t make him healthy or whole, it would just help improve his physical symptoms.

Much of what Albert is suffering will not begin to adequately change until he changes his thinking. His body is actually physically responding to the barrage of negative thoughts he plays over and over again in his mind. His hopeless, gloomy self-talk is the generator of the depressing emotions overwhelming him. But even if Albert reframed his thinking, he wouldn’t quite be whole or healthy.

The single greatest need Albert has is a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ so that he can be reconciled to God, be made a new creation in Jesus Christ, and have the Holy Spirit take up residence IN him to transform his life and renew his mind. This singular step would be the most life-changing and sustaining step Albert could take, although he would still need to learn how to reframe his thinking (failure to do that could interrupt his capacity to experience the peace Christ offers him) and consistently care for the needs of his physical body.

For Albert to be whole and healthy, he needs to be “three for three” — in other words, he needs to address his spiritual, mental/emotional, and physical needs fully.

The same is true for all of us, and that’s why Scott Free Clinic offers a holistic approach to helping people change their lives.

Scotty