Better Chaplain Series - Don't Be So Quickly Convinced

An Air Force chaplain with ample access to Officer Training School (OTS) and Squadron Officer School (SOS) did an informal study of what Line-Officers (the majority of Air Force officers) thought of chaplains. The results were alarming, line-officers thought of chaplains as aloof, judgmental, and incompetent. Then the chaplain asked if there were any chaplains in their classes; when there were, he asked the line-officers, “What do you think of your chaplain?” The answers were caring, value-added, friendly, and all manner of good things.

Stereotypes and prejudices have been a hot topic in recent years and the general consensus is that pre-judging someone is wrong. What hasn’t been talked about nearly enough is that the human heart is deceitful beyond all things (Jeremiah 17:9) and an idol factory (John Calvin). It is our fallen nature to hold prejudice and latch on to stereotypes and we often succumb to anchoring bias (the first piece of information is correct), and confirmation bias (we are more likely to interpret evidence in light of what we want to believe).

Chaplain, the sooner you realize that (1 you’re a sinner and (2 your counselee is a sinner and (3 everyone you both are interacting with are sinners, the sooner you’ll be able to interpret their concerns through a biblical lens and deliver godly counsel.

Common lies (or at best ingrained misconceptions of reality) that you’ll hear are:

1. I’m a faithful Christian married to an unfaithful Christian (if you can call them that) and all of my problems are caused by them.

2. I’m the only person keeping my work center running and my coworkers and commander hate me for it because I make them look bad.

3. I have the best motives, but I just make mistakes.

4. This was the first time I’ve ever broken the law! I can’t believe just because I got caught my first time that they’re going to hold me accountable.

Key Verse: The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him. ~ Proverbs 18:17

More:

1. Jesus was constantly opposed for claiming to be God. The evidence was clear, “The works I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me…” (John 10:25) What more could he do than what he had done? He was well on his way to fulfilling every prophecy that identified him as the Son of God (John 19:28), yet the people were convinced by their own sinful desires that Jesus was not their Messiah (Compare Isaiah 5:4). Which biases are you bringing into your relationship with Christ, into the chaplaincy, and into the counseling room that are untrue? How can you attack and rectify them so that you’re not just believing what you want to, but so that you can know and believe the truth?

2. Nicodemus recognized the bias against Jesus and appealed to the law, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” (John 7:51) The next time someone brings you damning evidence against someone else, remember that the law requires you give him a hearing before casting your judgment. Are you guilty of circumventing the law? How can you repent of that?

3. We are our own best defense lawyer: everything we do we know intrinsically that our motives were pure and if the outcome was not positive, it wasn’t our fault, and we have a plethora of excuses to prove it. We are also the best prosecutors: we know that other people, even when they have a positive outcome, had hideous intentions, and we have a plethora of examples to prove it. This is a sure way to make shipwreck of every relationship and to cut ourselves off from the grace of our awesome and forgiving God. The next time you’re tempted to defend yourself and accuse others, why not reverse the roles? Defend your adversary and accuse yourself! (Confer Job 40:8, Judges 21:25, 1 Corinthians 11:31)