Caregiver is the title the Christian carries by default. We are called to carry one another’s burdens in Galatians 6:2. As we begin to grow in the knowledge of God, we begin to reflect His image more and more. His character traits will begin to shine through as we conduct our daily lives.

When this happens, people who are hurting and in need will begin to gravitate to us for compassion, empathy and for wise counsel.

Showing genuine care for others may come in the form of providing a listening ear, praying for various needs or helping a brother or sister through the loss of a loved one for example.

Since it’s our nature to care, what can happen sometimes is that we can become burdened with a heavy heart when hearing of hardships that are going on in the lives of our brothers and sisters.

Because it’s our nature to care, the caregiver can sometimes unconsciously develop a fix it mentality. Setting out to fix problems in the lives of others is a sure sign that we have begun to take on the role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of others.

It’s great to allow someone to unload a burden through sharing their situation with you, but the caregiver must be careful not to take on the burdens of others in such a way that they now become burdened in life with the cares of others.

It’s our nature to care. However, caring for another is far different than curing another. Let me explain…

A characteristic of love is genuine care and concern for others. However, God is the only one who can cure a wrong situation in someone’s life.

The Caregiver with the “Fix it” Mentality

Because it’s our nature to care, the caregiver can sometimes unconsciously develop a fix it mentality. Setting out to fix problems in the lives of others is a sure sign that we have begun to take on the role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of others.

As caregivers, our first responsibility should simply be listening to the person in need. That may very well be all a hurting heart needs.

Life can be cruel sometimes. There are a lot of walking wounded brothers and sisters in Christ who feel that no one is interested in hearing their stories of pain and suffering, so they carry their hurts around, suffering through life sometimes for years with no relief.

Care can also take the form of prayer. Standing in prayer with someone can make a world of difference in the life of someone who is going through difficult times.

Providing care can take the form of being an accountability partner of someone who is experiencing a challenge in a particular area.

How to recognize when your care giving has become cure giving

We can provide the care, but only God can provide cures. In our zealousness to see healing and restoration in the lives of those who are hurting, we can easily slip over into an area of trying to provide cures to situations that only God can cure.

One surefire way to know if you’re attempting to provide cure as opposed to care is to step back and take a look at what role you are trying to play in a person’s life.

Are you attempting to be the “end of the process” in a person’s life, or are you simply the “means to the end”?

For example, if someone needs grief counseling and you are untrained in that area. Are you seeking to help the person find qualified care or are you attempting to be the care for the person in an area you have no expertise in?

If someone needs ongoing financial assistance, are you attempting to meet the person’s financial need on an ongoing basis, or are you helping the person find a means whereby they can work to meet their own ongoing financial need?

Taking on the role of the Holy Spirit is seeking to end the problem in a person’s life as opposed to caring for the person by ushering him or her into position to receive the cure for their particular situation.

God, by His Spirit is infinite. We as humans are finite beings. We cannot solve the problems of everyone we meet, but God can use us as caregivers and work through us to help meet the needs of those around us. Are you meeting the need, or are you helping to meet the need?

I believe God needs a church of Christian caregivers. However, we need to recognize and understand that while we can care for others, we cannot cure others.

As we play our part and provide care, God will play His part and provide the cure to those who are in need around us.

 
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