I worked in the field of Mental Health ...nor with a title that would draw familiarity though.  I did have a title, but the end of my title was 'worker'.  

Those with the title of 'supervisor' had the task of supervision of those working under them ...which included me.

I only supervised the patients ...or as they later were more favorably called 'clients'.  Through the years, they were sometimes youth, and other times adult prisoners.

My experiences throughout those years did not follow Freudian theory ...it came from extensive observation.

One particular time a young adult 'client' surprised one of the female workers by quickly coming up to the side of her ...and kissing her.

She responded by saying, "Don't ever do that again!"

He appeared to comply with the firm request, but waited only a couple minutes before doing it again.

Me and others escorted him out of the room.

His therapist wanted to talk with him, and because of the always present potential of impulsive behavior ...a 'worker' had to be also present, and this time it was me.

Therapist: "Do you realize that if you did that on the outside (referencing, outside the facility) you could get in big trouble?"

Client: "Oh, yes."

Therapist: "So, you know it's wrong then ...what you did."

Client: "I didn't do anything wrong."

Therapist: "You could get arrested and charged for doing that on the outside."

Client: "Oh, I know."

Therapist: "So, you admit it's wrong."

Client: "I didn't do anything wrong."

I realized that what appeared to be a ridiculous discourse, suddenly made sense to me.  The client didn't really think it was wrong ...in his mind, the outside world was the place where people are unreasonable.  And he appeared happy to be in a place protected from those unreasonable people in the out side world.  It was the outside world that didn't really understand.

Here is another conversation, outside the facility ...where they are not called 'clients', but 'children'.

The Sunday school teacher breaks up a tussle between two boys just before class starts.

The two boys involved, Mark and Luke, sit at opposite ends of the table as the Sunday school teacher decides to use this as an opportunity ...of a learning experience.

The teacher glances back and forth between the boys, "Jesus loves each of you.  And he doesn't stop loving you if you do something wrong."

Everyone in the class stares at the two boys.

Teacher: "Mark, do you believe God can be everywhere at the same time?"

Mark (hesitating): "Yes."

Teacher (looking to the other side of the table): "Luke, do you believe that Jesus is with you?"

Luke (hesitates): "Yes."

Teacher: "Luke, do you also believe Jesus is with me, your teacher?"

Luke (answering quickly): "Yes."

Teacher: "Mark, do you agree with what Luke just said ...and can you further say that Jesus can be with everyone in this room?"

Mark (hesitates): "Yes."

Teacher: "Mark, if Jesus can be everywhere at the same time, and can be with everyone in this room ...would you then be able to say that Jesus can be with Luke too?"

Mark looks directly at Luke, as everyone waits for his answer.

Mark (after a long sigh): "I guess so ..."

Teacher (smiling): "How about you, Luke?"

Everyone looks over at Luke now.

Teacher: "If Jesus can be everywhere at the same time, and He can be with everyone in this room at the same time ...tell me, Luke, how does that make you feel now about Mark?"

Luke (looks over at Mark, then directly at the teacher): "My Jesus is still mad at his Jesus."

(The teacher continued to teach how Jesus loves us all, and how we should love one another ...in spite of the disappointment after having been dashed in his confidence, and a bit of pride, that he had thought he was asking some great questions.  After all, it was his place to tell the truth, not concern himself with whether the truth will have its impact at any given moment ...the Holy Spirit will touch each heart as time has it.)

Jesus waits for when we are not mad ...because He is not different the way sometimes we depict Him, and when our heart is settled, He works to bring us to be more the way He would have us be. Some adults even suggest, as if justifying their own behavior, "God knows how I am."  Well, He is the great "I AM" ...and we should focus more on how He is, and how we should be.

Our nation had a gradual growth in unions, out of necessity.

Many companies in the past had hired strong-arm bosses who often had the incentive to pressure their workers to increase output because they got paid more for doing so.  

Sometimes things got out-of-control ...and workers were subjected to cruel treatment.

As companies got unionized, there were struggles ...but, though some fought long and hard, others saw some progress.  As things appeared to get better in some areas, there often was unexpected and unforeseen outcomes ...and many saw the incentive and work ethic begin to suffer.

Unions actually pressured workers who wanted to work ...who they felt were working too well for the company.  As time went on, concerning the work ethic, you could say you either had it, or you didn't ...because the union job would seldom instill it in a worker.

The great things about unions ...they at least claim they are fighting for us, and we feel they are when we all got jobs, we are all getting paid, we all get benefits.  We are content ...so much so, that often we are content with not even working hard. And often we can find it easy and convenient to find ways to not work at all, yet still collect our benefits.

Similarly, we have other institutions that tell us what's been done for us ...Jesus died for us, we can accept that, our debt is paid, we all get the benefit of salvation. Where's the incentive to even act like residents of God's kingdom?  We don't need to work on changing our behaviors, following any rules ...because we're in. We feel we already have the benefits ...after all, salvation is not by works.

And that is absolutely true ...that salvation is not by works.  But, the condition we find ourselves in with this sort of uninvolved attitude, is one that does not ring true to those around us.  Yes, we can get too involved in activity within the church building...that it limits us in building the church, which is the outreach in our communities. But, the 'new' man or woman that the Bible talks about ...if it's not evident to those around us, then those around us will likely turn to what's around them.  Institutions of (supposed) higher learning often omit any consideration of the authority of God ...and they teach us evolution, and that we are constantly evolving and learning.  

And the government promises us that the debt doesn't matter, says it will forgive our debt, offers us benefits ...and we get handouts without having to work.  So many are turning to these institutions and the government, and feel are U.S. Constitution needs to change as we are not the nation we used to be, and our needs are different now.  And they also act like the Bible was written by people, so is not always accurate ...and it too was written for people back then, so is a bit outdated. 

I've mentioned society guidelines, the teachings of the church, and organizational pressures ...all three have had a major effect upon how we've changed as a nation.

Change ...it's a great campaign slogan, as people are too often dissatisfied and discontent.  Too eager to cry foul, or jump on the bandwagon of any injustice that surfaces ...also too quickly emotions peak without looking any deeper than the surface.

Society's guidelines are driven by impulses & the legal controls, or lack of them ...place upon everyone.

Societies attempt to place value judgments upon what is acceptable and what is not ...and often society is not.

Society is made up of people and what they share ...but it is not foremost that they share things, but how they view things.  We view things in ways that we often cannot decide whether something should be guided by Sigmund Freud-type of reasoning ...where we are not to suffer the guilt of blame, because we can charge all responsibility to past flaws in our upbringing.

I did not mean to solo out Sigmund Freud, I was just recalling attempting to compliment someone one time at work ...only to be told I was passive-aggressive.  She was a new therapist that I had just begun to work with ...she was not my personal therapist.  There's been only one personal therapist in my life ...my wife.  Anyway, back to the story ...I laughed, and asked where she got that idea.  She said it was my jokes ...and my bit of sarcasm intertwined.  The rest of the conversation went something like this:

Therapist: "You and your other co-worker are passive-aggressive."

Me: "Where do you get that?"

Therapist: "I learned it at college."

Me: "Okay, but who taught you that?"

Therapist: "My professor at college."

Me: "Okay, but where did he get it?"

Therapist: "Sigmund Freud."

Me: "But, he was a sick man."

Therapist (defensively): "He was a very intelligent man!"

Me: "Yes, he was very intelligent, but he was sick too ...and that's a dangerous combination."

Silence.

Me: "I'm sorry, when my friend and I joke, it's because we like someone ...we don't try to be disrespectful. If I don't like someone, I don't talk to them at all ...I'm not passive-aggressive, as you say."

I guess I was trying to backtrack there after I realized that I was perhaps unintentionally insinuating at that point that all her years of study were in studying a sick man.  I had not intended to say that ...we had both tried to compliment her, and if anything her comment back to us was a bit ...not deemed 'aggressive' to me, but challenging.  I had also graduated from college and had heard of Freud's theories, and how he viewed behaviors as a result of each of us being victims of our past ...and behaviors were labeled more for technical prowess of dreaming up ideas of their origin than gaining understanding towards the benefit of solutions.  And while he was dreaming up these Oedipal theories ...the thing that disturbed me most was that in saying we are victims of our past, he was ignoring the true victims such as the child abuse cases that he dismissed as fantasies of abuse that were conjured up to repress self-induced or society-induced guilt for what he called healthy natural behaviors.

The church is a broad spectrum between extremes. On one extreme there are very strict guidelines and standards, with restricted flexibility when dealing with perceived violations of those standards. The other extreme is a virtual loss of moral compass, sailing to and fro within the winds of whatever is blowing ...yet, still singing Kumbaya.

I abhor abuse, so I would not favor going back to the time before unions existed, but I don't think much of what today's unions have become either.

And often churches still far into both extremes ...yet, today there are many more liberal ones than strict ones.

Choice is involved in both, so what is the biggest difference?

Unions are often forced upon you by the populace of workers ...churches are not.

I suppose you could say someone can always get another job, but it is easier to find another church.  And though it may be difficult at times to find a good church, it is much easier to steer away from the bad ones.

And it is often easy to distinguish the churches that are influenced by society, and those influenced by the Word of God ...if you have read the Bible, that is.

So, you search & choose ...and it might even be fun meeting the people.  

My first experience at the church I now go to ...well, I almost didn't return. But, I realized that I can't judge the character of a church by a couple people ...especially if they are not the pastor, or even elders. And sometimes those same people that we may not at first understand can be part of an enriched experience later ...if you also understand the balance of not just getting fed, but also helping others.

I really think highly of Pastor Tom, and Pastor Myron ...and they attend to what I believe, that Jesus loves each and every one of us.

We are in no ways going to be able to love God so constant and fully as He loves us ...and we can't come close to comprehending that love, but He does ask us to follow His statutes and commandments.

In no way do I believe we lose our salvation if we are having an unloving moment ...but I also don't believe God to be like Sigmund Freud either, looking to our past to reason away all our behaviors.  I believe in responsible behavior, not the rally cry of those seeking only that others understand them.

I hold fast to the ambition that we all attempt to understand God.

Life is not supposed to be an investigation to find out whose guilty; therefore we don't need to explain away the reasons why we do what we do.

Life is more like a Math problem ...not that we should multiply our problems and cause division among ourselves, but in the sense that we have an absolute.  We have an absolute God.  And for the most part, we know when something is wrong.  When things are right, the feeling of peace surrounds us.

My brother was once asked to fly to Atlanta, Georgia.  He was given a folder to read in flight. He was told that once he arrived, he was to be the authority on the subject, but not to worry because no one there would know more than what was in that folder.

If I were in a meeting, I would not claim to know more than what's in the Bible ...and no one else there could either.  Together we can discuss it, but the Bible, the Word of God, is the authority.