01/22/2026
There’s a growing narrative that says:
“If your work is meant to help people, charging well for it is immoral.”
That belief sounds compassionate — but it quietly collapses under scrutiny.
Access to support already exists at every level: churches, community groups, peer support, nonprofits, donation-based circles, sliding scales, and paid professionals. What often gets framed as “inaccessibility” is actually preference: wanting a specific level of service, from a specific person, at a price that feels comfortable.
That isn’t justice. That’s desire — and desire isn’t a moral argument.
Healing work may be humanitarian in nature, but humanitarian work is still funded, resourced, and bounded. Doctors, therapists, counselors, hospice workers, and nonprofit staff are paid — not because they lack compassion, but because sustainability matters. Care that destroys the caregiver eventually disappears.
There’s also a deeper belief hiding underneath this conversation:
that spiritual or healing work is a “gift,” and gifts should be free.
Historically, that belief has kept healers — especially women — overgiving, underpaid, and burned out. It turns boundaries into shame and self-respect into greed. But a gift still moves through a human body with rent, children, health needs, and years of training behind it.
The real ethical questions in healing are not about price.
They’re about integrity.
Are people honest about what they offer?
Are boundaries clear?
Is fear being exploited or agency strengthened?
Are clients encouraged to grow — not depend?
You can find unethical work at any price point.
And deeply ethical work at many.
Respecting access and respecting boundaries are not opposites.
They’re both required for a healthy ecosystem of care.