He’ll Think I’m a Loser
“I can’t go to the counselor. He’ll think I’m a loser.” That’s what a lot of people say when confronted with a life gone nuts. They know they are in trouble, but don’t want anyone else to know about it. And they don’t have a clue how to “fix” things.
I have two arguments against this kind of thinking. The first comes from my friend Kim Kirkland. It goes like this: If your car has a funny sound in the engine area, we don’t usually have a problem taking it to the garage to be looked at. And if our heat goes out in the dead of winter, we don’t hesitate to call the heater folks and ask them to come and fix or replace it. When doing this, we don’t complain that the garage mechanic or the heater repair guy will think we are losers because we need help. We just call, get help, and go on our way. So, why, when something in our personal lives goes haywire, do we all of a sudden think we will be thought of as losers if we go to someone who spends a significant amount of time helping people with problems in living? Go to a good biblical counselor!
The second argument is one I thought up while we were discussing the topic. You know what? There was only ever one perfect person in the history of the world. Jesus Christ. Everyone else falls short of the standard. Everyone else comes up short. Everyone else is broken and needs fixing. In other words, everyone is a loser. You aren’t unique in that you need help. Everyone needs help from time to time and even when people don’t need immediate help, they will need it in a few minutes. Everyone sins; everyone needs forgiveness; and everyone needs a new life.
A good biblical counselor will acknowledge this and instead of telling you that you’re a loser, will come alongside you and point you to Jesus. Jesus is the only one who was ever perfect, and he’s the one you need to go to for fixing.
So, let me tell you this as sweetly and kindly as I possibly can: Get over yourself. You’re not perfect and never will be, and no one ever thought you were. Not even you. If you need help with your problem, go to a biblical counselor and get help.
Well, there you have it. You can call a biblical counselor because you need fixing, just like you would call a heater specialist when your heater breaks. Or you can call a biblical counselor because you are a loser like the rest of us and need help—like the rest of us. Either way, if your life is causing you or others trouble, get help from a qualified biblical counselor.