Jesus Wept

In my ethics class our assignment was to interview three therapists and ask them this question:

"If you were counseling someone and they disclosed to you that they had HIV and they have not told their partner, what would you do?"
All three of my respondents said that they had a duty to warn and that they would tell the partner. The psychologist I interviewed said that she would tell her client that if he didn't tell his partner- she would. Of course she would try and encourage him to do it- she even said that she would make the therapy session free if he brought his partner in. Anyway after all this research on the subject I found out that we could get into trouble if we warn the client. The law in CA isn't' clear in this case but there is a good probability that if the therapist breaks confidentiality- the therapist could suffer the consequences. My professor stated that we can't break confidentiality in this case. Don't you hate it when someone tells you that you can't do something? I would if I had to. My reasoning is this; I am a Christian first- loyal to God and what he says, my job is secondary. God says love him first- then your neighbor. In counseling the motto is, "do no harm." Well I found out that this is the silver rule in Japanese culture and it is the very opposite of Biblical love. McQuilkin sums it up like this; A Japanese philosopher, Kitamori, tells us that the Silver Rule lies at the base of a strong Japanese characteristic; disentanglement. To refrain from harming another is best achieved by staying clear of him. So the Japanese characteristic is to assume incredible obligations for those to whom one is inevitably related (family, work) but to remain adamantly aloof, disentangled from all other responsibility. But love deliberately entangles itself. Biblical love does so whatever the cost. An emerging definition of love, then, is an affection, or desire for the welfare of another that moves to a commitment to act on his behalf." (Biblical Ethics, p. 8) I began to see that this picture of disentanglement, is a picture of the church. This was posted last month on Christian Post; "only 5 percent of Christian adults indicated that their church does anything to hold them accountable for integrating biblical beliefs and principles into their life, according to the Barna Group." As a society we are taught to keep out of one anothers business, don't' judge.. No wonder why the church is powerless! How can we grow as Christians or as a community of believers? Well we are doing a good job keeping out of each others lives. We don't want to hurt their feelings, or offend, or confront, or really love someone enough to speak the truth in love. Jesus confronted the woman at the well, he went to Peter after his failure, he told us we were sinners, he was intimate with his disciples- and "Jesus wept" when Lazarus's' sister was crying. He took action in the lives of others. We have a call to action on behalf of one another. Jude 1:20-23"But you beloved, building yourself up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the Love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life, And have mercy on some who are doubting, save others, snatching them out of the fire, and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh. These are strong words- snatch means to take by force- have mercy with fear-Help those who need it.
My husband has suffered from some serious heart complications and its no secret. Well we shared with the pastors wife his condition and she was well aware that his diet isn't what it should be and she told him, "I don't' want Joe (her husband the pastor) to do your funeral. Then she even gave us a book on reversing heart disease! Thanks Kathleen! This has changed his diet. She spoke out of love and concern. She even told him; "listen to your wife!" lol I am thankful for the people in my life who have challenged me, confronted me, and spoke the truth. Its my prayer that we will be a church that is passionate about one another to the point of entanglement and that we will grow together building up the body of Christ Jesus- spotless and pure. (Eph. 5)