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Biblical Worldview
Paper
Theology Survey I (Liberty
University)
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BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW PAPER
**
THEO 201-B14
February 17, 2016
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In Christianity, the belief that God is actively involved with His creation is very
powerful. The term “creation” is referring to humans; we are the created ones by God. There are
multiple scriptures that point to the fact the God is actively involved in our lives, but one passage
that stands out to me in particular is Proverbs 16. The passage discusses that men can make plans
for their lives, but in the end it is really up to God what the outcome will be. Proverbs 16:9
states,
“In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps”.1 Our God is a caring
God, who is actively involved in the direction of our lives. The course textbook, A Theology for
the Church also reflects on this idea that things do not happen by random, chance, or accident.
God is purposeful in our lives and orders all things.2 As a Christian, the belief that God is
actively involved in our lives goes hand in hand with how I choose to interact with people on a
regular basis. God is love and He is caring, and we are called to be like Him. Ephesians 5:1-2
states “Be imitators of God, therefore as dearly loved children. And live a life of love, just as
Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us”.3 Therefore it is a goal of mine to be like God and
be involved in people’s lives around me in a loving, and caring way. I believe holding this
doctrine that God is actively involved with His creation, and that I am called to be like Him, will
greatly impact the way I interact with families and children when I become a Child Life
Specialist one day.
A Child Life Specialist is a pediatric health care professional that helps families and
children deal with the hardships that come with illness and hospitalization. As a Child Life
Specialist, it will be my job to help provide the child and family with support, guidance, and
1 Prov. 16:9 (NIV).
2 Daniel L. Akin, A Theology for the Church, Revised Edition (Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing
Group, 2014), 201.
3 Eph. 5:1-2 (NIV).
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effective coping skills. With this career, I will be interacting with all kinds of people on a
daily basis such as the hospital staff like doctors and nurses, as well as many different types of
children and families. There are various Bible verses that discuss how to treat people and how to
be involved in other’s lives in a positive way, however there are a few that I believe really apply
to how we should interact with people in the workplace. Philippians 2:4 states, “Each of you
should not look only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others”.4 The line of work
I will be entering is a very service-oriented type job that is focused around helping, caring, and
empathizing. It will be very important to be selfless and to be constantly thinking about my
patient and their family’s interest rather than my own. For example, Child Life Specialists have
set weekly hours, however these health care professionals work many extra hours overtime. Say
I am working with a terminally ill child who is staying in the hospital long-term, whose mother is
at the hospital with her child day and night. That mother has not had a decent night’s sleep in
weeks so I, as the Child Life Specialist can offer to stay overnight with her child. I can promise
that mother that I will be there to take care of her child, and that I will not leave her child’s side
until she returns. When a child is hospitalized it is very import for them to have a strong support
system from their family members, and the family plays a big part in the illness and recovery of
the child. Therefore, just as God looks out for my interests, I will look out for the interests of my
patient and their family as well.
Another Bible passage, which I believe is crucial to how we interact with people not only
in a chosen vocation, but also in life in general is Galatians 5:22-23 regarding the fruit of the
Holy Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit states nine attributes that should be included in a Christian’s
life and they are as follows: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
4 Phil. 2:4 (NIV).
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goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control”.5 If I am continually trying to instill and
apply these attributes to my life, then the way I interact with others should on some level
resemble the way God interacts with us. The Spiritual fruit of faithfulness is a fruit that stands
out to me that I believe I will be able to continually show to a sick child and their family when I
become a Child Life Specialist. I can show them faithfulness by reminding them that even when
things look too far-gone and impossible, to have faith. I can remind them to have faith in the
doctors in that they know what they are doing, and they are trying as hard as they possibly can to
help heal the child. I can share my personal faith with them and tell that God performs miracles
and heals lives and bodies every day. Part of my job will be to keep them in good spirits in the
midst of the trying time in their life, and part of staying in good spirits means having faith for a
better tomorrow. If I have this fruit of the Spirit instilled and flowing out of me, the children I
treat and the families who are present will see that. The fact that God is actively interacting with
me gives me the drive to deeply interact with others, and share the faith that I have with them.
Another fruit that I believe will help me positively interact with people, within my chosen
vocation of Child Life Specialist, is self-control. This career will be a high-stress environment
with a lot of emotions running rampant from all directions, so I need to make sure that I stay in
control of myself. I will be the one guiding the family and helping them cope, so I need to show
them what it looks like to be in control of your emotions, and while the situations will usually be
heartbreaking, show them what it looks like to make logical rather than emotional decisions. At
times empathy will play a big part in this job, feeling what the child and family feels, however I
will need to be the example of how to remain calm in times of stress and crisis. Lastly, I believe
working on incorporating and sharing the fruit of joy as a Child Life Specialist with the sick
children will have a great affect on my relationships with them. Children are meant to have
5 Gal. 5:22-23 (NIV).
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carefree lives. They should go to school, learn, and have fun while they are young, so it is really
unfortunate that there are so many children plagued by illness. The children I will be working
with will be confined to a hospital room and walls so it is important that I help them find joy and
keep their spirits up. A major way children cope is through play, it is called play therapy and
that is something I will be doing with them often. I will be able to show the children that my joy
does not come from if I am healthy or not, and there’s should not either. Expressing to them
that my joy comes from God will open doors to many positive conversations.
I believe with my whole heart that God is actively involved with His creation. He is
constantly working in the hearts and minds of all humans, and you will be able to see it if only
you stop to listen to Him. I believe every Christian who has this strong belief that God is
working in lives, should also have their personality and interaction with other people greatly
affected. Our job as Christians is to be like Christ and to be a light to others. So I picked the
Fruits of the Spirit as the main biblical passage for this because Christ has each one of those
fruits down to perfection. If more Christians could actively pursue resembling God in just one or
two of those fruits, their interactions with other people would be profoundly different. The
course textbook and the Bible as well, speak of God’s immense love for us, and how His love for
us is a great theme of the Bible.6 He loves us so we are to love others. Personally, knowing that
God is actively working in my life has always affected the way I act and interact with other
people, and I imagine it will continue to as I grow up and become a Child Life Specialist.
Bibliography
6 Akin, A Theology for the Church, 193.
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Akin, Daniel L. A Theology for the Church, Revised Edition. Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing
Group, 2014.
