Practical Christianity 6
The video for this message can be found here.
Prayer: Father, we confess that we have often been far more effected by the world and false teaching than we care to admit. And often we have turned more readily to so-called doctors, therapists, and medications before turning to You and Your Word. But we are gathered here to hear Your Word, and we ask that it would be a sharp blade in our lives, revealing our sin, cutting away our cancer, and so setting us free. We ask for this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Introduction
We live in a therapeutic age – which means we live in an age that believes that many (if not most) hard things can be solved by medicine – whether therapies or treatments or pills, and we must acknowledge that humanistic therapies and psychologies have become in large part rival religions to Christianity. While it used to be that churches were on many corners of American towns, there are now counselors, psychologists, therapists, and social workers on many blocks of American cities. We have turned away from God, and we have turned to science and medicine for our peace and joy.
While the Dominion Mandate certainly includes studying the science of the brain, there have been antagonistic philosophies at work in much of the secular therapy world. Materialism and humanism are the central lies: we are more than just chemicals and material mechanisms; we are embodied souls made in God’s image and we live in the world that God made. This means that peace and joy are not possible apart from coming to grips with our relationship to our Maker.
There are many trials in this life, but God has given us His sure word to comfort our hearts (Rom. 15:4). Where do you look for peace and comfort? Where do you turn?
The Text: “And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican…” (Lk. 18:9-14).
Summary of the Text
This parable is for those who trust in themselves, think they are right, and thereby, whether they know it or not, despise others (Lk. 19:9). Jesus chose for the parable a man from one of the most respected classes (Pharisees) and a man from one of the most despised classes (tax collectors) (Lk. 18:10). The Pharisee prays in the temple with a lot of proud gratitude, and he is thankful that he hasn’t fallen into many different sins, and for his spiritual disciplines of fasting and tithing (all with himself!) (Lk. 18:11-12). The tax collector, on the other hand, stood in the back, and refusing to even look up, simply begged God for mercy (Lk. 18:13). And Jesus says that the beggar went home made right, but the other was not because God exalts the humble and humiliates the proud (Lk. 18:14).
Therapeutic Failure
Much like the Pharisees, the medical profession has been one of the most respected classes in our modern world because of their (often) selfless service in saving and protecting life. But where there is much good, there is also often a temptation to arrogance and pride, and right after that, much evil (think abortion, trans-surgeries, COVID madness). It is often assumed that if someone has good intentions and wants to “help people,” they must be virtuous and doing some good. But we really ought to have a bit more biblical cynicism. Thoreau once said, “If I knew for a certainty that a man was coming to my house with the conscious design of doing me good, I should run for my life.” Good intentions are not enough. “I want to help people” is a nice sentiment, but do you actually know how to?
Since the explosion of humanistic therapies over the last century, one wonders what good it has done us. As one commentator put it, “Despite the creation of a virtual army of psychiatrists, psychologists, psychometrists, counselors, and social workers, there has been no letup in the rate of mental illness, suicide, alcoholism, drug addiction, child abuse, divorce, murder, and general mayhem. Contrary to what one might expect in a society so carefully analyzed and attended to by mental health experts, there has been an increase in all these categories.” Like the woman in the gospels, we have suffered many things from many physicians, and we have only gotten worse (Mk. 5:26). It is also striking that while therapies have increased, Biblical preaching and counseling has largely cratered, with a great deal of it simply echoing therapeutic mantras.
Self-Esteem vs. Dignity of Guilt
At the very center of the problem with many therapies is an anti-Christian anthropology (doctrine of man). The assumption of much humanistic psychology is that people are basically good and bad feelings and habits are mostly a result of their environment (e.g. what has been done to them, chemicals in their brain, genes, deprivation, weather, poverty, etc.). But Scripture teaches that despite the real challenges in our fallen environments, every human being is born in sin, inclined to sin, and morally culpable for their actions and reactions to their environments (Rom. 3). We are not fundamentally victims; we are fundamentally moral agents. This is the dignity of guilt. The humanist wants to absolve humans of guilt and so destroys human agency: “it isn’t your fault, it was your dad, your mom, your brain, the weather, the economy…” But by blaming everything else, the humanist destroys the individual’s meaning and value. If nothing is your fault, then nothing you do matters, and therefore you don’t matter. Some of God’s kindest words in Genesis 3 are “because you have done this…”
And this brings us back to the parable. Humanistic psychology often preaches a gospel of pride and self-esteem: talk about how good you are, how valuable you are, all your accomplishments, how brave you are, how strong you are, think positive. But Jesus says that is the path to humiliation and shame: everyone that exalts himself will be (the Greek word is literally) “depressed” (Lk. 18:14). People are often depressed because they are constantly trying to lift themselves up, prove themselves, have high self-esteem. And sometimes this is done subtly by constantly focusing on yourself and how you feel. It is possible to “exalt yourself,” by simply making yourself the center of your focus and concern. But that too is a form of pride and despising others.
But the gospel, the “good news” of Jesus Christ, begins with the dignity of guilt: “All have sinned.” And the first step towards healing is bowing your head in true humility and pleading with God: “Be merciful to me a sinner.” And notice that this plea both acknowledges personal responsibility and helplessness and turns out of self and looks to God. And Jesus says, that is the path to healing. Taking humble responsibility for our own sin is the path to being lifted up – by casting your cares on Christ: “for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (cf. 1 Pet. 5:5-7).
Applications
Are we saying that all therapists and psychologists and their treatments are evil and worthless? Not at all. We are saying beware. Be careful. Be on guard. Some Pharisees were good men, but Jesus said, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. Beware of the leaven of the humanistic therapists.
Many modern “psychological disorders” are simply the result of unconfessed sin, sinful lifestyles, and sinful habits. Even when it comes to true medical matters, the Bible teaches that we ought to consider whether we have any unconfessed sin (Js. 5:14-16). When it comes to our thoughts and feelings, we ought to do so even more since the Bible explicitly teaches that unconfessed sin results in feeling awful and loss of joy (Ps. 32). Worry, anxiety, and fear are sins that can make you sick (in body and mind), not to mention lies, sexual immorality, bitterness, and envy. Sin is not good for your mental health.
Just as some medical conditions having nothing to do with personal sin, so too, some psychological disorders are true medical conditions that are simply the result of the Fall (Jn. 9:2-3). There are hormonal imbalances, and brain damage, and sometimes there is a challenging mixture of both sin and medical conditions. Just because there may be something truly medical does not ever justify sin.
Many humanist therapies arrogantly teach that it is “abusive” to tell people that they have sinned, that they are wrong, or to correct them in any way – especially victims of other sins/crimes or certain classes of people (often women) because correction makes people “feel bad.” But that is like refusing surgery on cancer because it will be painful. But this is the sin of empathy, and in the name of compassion despises people. Christ sympathizes with us in our weakness, but He does not leave us there.
This same arrogance often calls biblical spanking of children abusive. But the Bible is extremely clear: “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him” (Prov. 13:24 ESV, cf. 22:15, 23:13-14). This must be done calmly, judiciously, and never in anger, but it must be done. God disciplines us as His children because He loves us and He wants us to become holy like Him – and His discipline is painful (Heb. 12:5-11). Some trials are God’s fatherly discipline that we are called to endure patiently and joyfully. Jesus learned obedience through the things He suffered, and He refused to take the sponge of alcohol to dull that pain.
We do not have some sacred “right” to always feel good. Sometimes we are simply feeling human (tired, hungry). Sometimes there are many trials. Sometimes God gives us the means to alleviate some of the pain. But we must not immediately demand a pain-free existence. The testing of our faith produces patience, and patience works perfection in God’s people (Js. 1).
Humility recognizes that we don’t always understand the connections between the mind and the body, but humility trusts God’s Word above all other words. And humility looks to Christ.
Prayer: Father, please show us any area where we have swallowed anti-Biblical assumptions about sin and our minds, or medicine or therapy. We want to study and understand the way You made us and our minds, but we want to do it in absolute humility before You. Help us to truly cast our cares upon you, and not merely say that we are. And I pray that you would give great peace and greater joy to my people this week because they are looking to You. And we ask this in Jesus name, who taught us to pray…
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