Transforming Care: A Christian Vision of Nursing Practice by Mary Molewyk Doornbos;Ruth Groenhout;Kendra G. Hotz
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bottom this refusal, this self-deception,
is an effort to transfer divine infinitude to the finite and fragile human
frame. It is a form of self-deification wherein the continuation of physical
existence becomes the highest good. And if we operate with such a distorted picture of human life as the absolute good, we cause destruction to
the very lives we should be treating with care and respect. There comes a
time in some lives when death is a gracious relief from inconceivable suffering, and if we arrogantly insist on using every resource to stave off
death, which ultimately only prolongs suffering, we do so out of a mistaken desire to pretend that human life is not finite.
To preclude misunderstanding, it is worth noting that this is not intended to be an argument for active euthanasia. It is, instead, an argument
for recognizing that the attempt to use interventions to stave off death
should come to an end at some point, in recognition that human lives, on
this side of the general resurrection, do not continue indefinitely. We are
finite creatures, and respect for that finitude includes the recognition that
at some point we should no longer attempt to prolong life at whatever cost.
The unbounded fight to prevent physical death represents an idolatry of
physical human life that is generated by self-deception about our place in
creation.
One of the great strengths of the Christian faith is that it takes our capacity for self-deception - our ability to confuse ourselves with God - as
a central theme for theology. Christianity acknowledges that even religion
can be associated with self-deception and self-deification. Because of this,
Christians must always be self-critical. We must always seek out the hidden
idolatries in all of our activities. When we begin to assume that all things
exist for our sake, we also begin to feel the weight and responsibility of being God. Suddenly the salvation of individuals falls to us! But this is an illusion, for salvation is a gift from God. God claims us before we are ever
capable of claiming God.
Confusion about our role can lead Christian nurses to forget this central affirmation of the faith. They come to believe that they are acting as
Christian nurses only when they are "witnessing" to their clients, when
they are being explicit about their faith and trying to convert the client. Or,
worse, they can think of their vocation as a nurse as merely a pretense to
get at vulnerable clients and convert them. But because we are not God,
and because salvation is the work of God, it is not our responsibility to
save anyone. This is not to say that there is never a time when Christian
nurses should speak of their faith with clients. The spiritual dimensions of
nursing care are central and important, and nurses who are open about
their own faith commitments are better nurses for it. But acknowledging
one's faith and being open to the spiritual needs of the client are not the
same thing as confusing nursing with evangelization. Nursing itself is a
valid Christian ministry, responding to Christ's call to care for the least of
these, and should be treated as such.
Sinful self-deception sometimes operates subtly - for example, when
we value human life as if it were the absolute good or when we are led by
genuine concern to ignore the constraints of respect and manipulate clients' vulnerability in order to feel that we have saved their souls. But we also
need to have a clear vision of the ways in which self-deception operates in
more obvious ways. When we label a client "non-compliant" or ignore the
call light and repeated requests of a demanding client, we probably have
some justification, but we run the risk of justifying too much. When we
simply give the medication ordered by a cantankerous physician, rather
than calling to check on a dosage that looks wrong, we may be choosing not
to see what we should see. Self-deception also plays a deep and abiding role
is an effort to transfer divine infinitude to the finite and fragile human
frame. It is a form of self-deification wherein the continuation of physical
existence becomes the highest good. And if we operate with such a distorted picture of human life as the absolute good, we cause destruction to
the very lives we should be treating with care and respect. There comes a
time in some lives when death is a gracious relief from inconceivable suffering, and if we arrogantly insist on using every resource to stave off
death, which ultimately only prolongs suffering, we do so out of a mistaken desire to pretend that human life is not finite.
To preclude misunderstanding, it is worth noting that this is not intended to be an argument for active euthanasia. It is, instead, an argument
for recognizing that the attempt to use interventions to stave off death
should come to an end at some point, in recognition that human lives, on
this side of the general resurrection, do not continue indefinitely. We are
finite creatures, and respect for that finitude includes the recognition that
at some point we should no longer attempt to prolong life at whatever cost.
The unbounded fight to prevent physical death represents an idolatry of
physical human life that is generated by self-deception about our place in
creation.
One of the great strengths of the Christian faith is that it takes our capacity for self-deception - our ability to confuse ourselves with God - as
a central theme for theology. Christianity acknowledges that even religion
can be associated with self-deception and self-deification. Because of this,
Christians must always be self-critical. We must always seek out the hidden
idolatries in all of our activities. When we begin to assume that all things
exist for our sake, we also begin to feel the weight and responsibility of being God. Suddenly the salvation of individuals falls to us! But this is an illusion, for salvation is a gift from God. God claims us before we are ever
capable of claiming God.
Confusion about our role can lead Christian nurses to forget this central affirmation of the faith. They come to believe that they are acting as
Christian nurses only when they are "witnessing" to their clients, when
they are being explicit about their faith and trying to convert the client. Or,
worse, they can think of their vocation as a nurse as merely a pretense to
get at vulnerable clients and convert them. But because we are not God,
and because salvation is the work of God, it is not our responsibility to
save anyone. This is not to say that there is never a time when Christian
nurses should speak of their faith with clients. The spiritual dimensions of
nursing care are central and important, and nurses who are open about
their own faith commitments are better nurses for it. But acknowledging
one's faith and being open to the spiritual needs of the client are not the
same thing as confusing nursing with evangelization. Nursing itself is a
valid Christian ministry, responding to Christ's call to care for the least of
these, and should be treated as such.
Sinful self-deception sometimes operates subtly - for example, when
we value human life as if it were the absolute good or when we are led by
genuine concern to ignore the constraints of respect and manipulate clients' vulnerability in order to feel that we have saved their souls. But we also
need to have a clear vision of the ways in which self-deception operates in
more obvious ways. When we label a client "non-compliant" or ignore the
call light and repeated requests of a demanding client, we probably have
some justification, but we run the risk of justifying too much. When we
simply give the medication ordered by a cantankerous physician, rather
than calling to check on a dosage that looks wrong, we may be choosing not
to see what we should see. Self-deception also plays a deep and abiding role
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