11/11/2025
Not long ago, our staff divided into “soul-care groups” that meet monthly for prayer, sharing, and caring. As a Type-A, task-driven leader, “soul care” sounds a lot like navel-gazing groups that just like to talk about themselves.
It’s a good thing our staff hasn’t given up on me yet. Here’s one of many examples proving that you can teach an old dog new tricks.
As I have done a deeper dive into Scripture, I’ve discovered that the soul is not some ethereal substance imprisoned by our bodies, just waiting to be set free once we take our last breath. This, by the way, is a Platonic idea, not a biblical one.
The soul is the complete self, the integrated whole of our humanity created in the image of God. Your soul is what integrates your mind, your will, and your body into a unified person (1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 4:12). Additionally, your soul seeks to connect with God, others, and the created order (Psalm 42:1-2).
A soul is healthy—well-ordered—when there is harmony between your will, mind, and body and God’s intent for your life. The dis-integration of the soul is when we turn away from God’s intent for our lives, and we experience dis-harmony between our will, mind, and body.
James 1:8 says, “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.” Then later, James repeats, “Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (James 4:8). The word translated “double-minded” is the Greek word dipsychos. Psyche is the Greek word for soul, so dipsychos could be translated “you double-souled,” “you split-souled,” or “you fractured soul.” Sin fractures and shatters our soul (Ortberg, Soul Keeping, 67).
We fracture our soul when we live life with one foot on the accelerator and the other on the brake. We avoid stealing but we never live with openhanded generosity. We don’t commit adultery, but we allow ourselves other forms of sexual gratification that dishonors our spouse. At times we do what is right, but we are torn by the desire to do otherwise (Romans 7:19). We are a fractured soul.
And so, I am learning why “soul care” is necessary for spiritual and emotional health. It’s not about a navel-gazing, self-absorbed group; it’s about bringing wholeness and harmony back to the dis-integration we all face far too frequently.
My question to you is: Is it well with your soul, or are you neglecting your soul? Maybe it’s time to take a next step in getting into your own “soul-care group” where you can deepen a biblical focus on integrating your will (your intentions), your mind (your thoughts and feelings), and your body (your actions) into a single life. There, in Christ, you will find wholeness and health and not live in a constant state of dipsychos.
