Introduction
For those grammar experts out there thinking, “Shouldn’t that be ‘How may I help you?’” let me reassure you. I am not trying to address the question a helper asks a person in need, but rather the question a potential helper asks themselves: “How can I help you?” The Bible makes it very clear we are to help others. From Jesus’s parable of the good Samaritan to the admonition in Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ,” the call to help each other is an expectation of all Christians.
But that doesn’t mean that providing help to others is an easy or straightforward task. Many of us feel unsure of ourselves, unprepared to meet the needs of others and unskilled in dealing with challenging issues. Even the most willing helper may often ask “What can I do to help this person?”
In a forty-year career in addiction and mental health therapy I’ve encountered a myriad of complex issues facing a wide range of people, and have discovered, through many failures and some success, principles important to the work of helping others. I hope to share these with you in order to aid you in serving others in need.
Of course, I don’t intend to turn anyone into a seasoned therapist just by reading a single book, but there are some simple techniques that I and others have found useful. I’ll also provide a wealth of analogies and examples that might be helpful in situations you encounter. There will be several scripture references as well (taken from the New King James Version), with attempts to apply biblical instructions and principles to current day issues.