This counseling resource is built upon weaving together the various scriptural themes and ideas which explain why people act as they do. By understanding what causes people to tick, it is possible for those who desire to serve God to reorder their inner workings in order that they might live for God as He desires. To complete the picture of what happens to those who insist on pursuing ungodly ways of living, some principles of psychology have been added which have been adapted from Dr. Larry Crabb's Effective Biblical Counseling published by Zondervan in 1977.

This model is intended to cause you to reflect upon the breadth of scriptural teaching regarding how to live life. Hopefully, this model will make clear the simple truths which are revealed in scripture that will lead toward genuine healing of deep wounds. This model is intended to also make obvious the extreme importance of believing and ingesting God's Word as an antidote to the broken lives which are left in the wake of secular thinking and the many forms of prevalent idolatry.

Many implications of this model are developed throughout the articles contained in our Reading Room. One of these articles is "Who Are You?" There is also an adult class series of lessons built upon this material.

Blue arrows tie the model to a few of the supporting scriptures.

1. Here are a few of the implications which this model suggests about the workings of human life:

• What we believe creates our values (desires), which in turn determine our behavior and attitudes. In addition to the texts cited in the model along these lines, consider also James 1:13-14; 4:1-4.
  • The example of Eve. When God told Adam and Eve about the danger of the forbidden fruit, Eve did not have any desire to eat it. This can be seen in the fact that when she informed the serpent about the fruit's deadly nature, she revealed her aversion to it. However, when her beliefs changed, her desire to sin was awakened and sinful behavior followed suit.
  • The example of Bill the hard worker.
    • If Bill believes that things provide security and that the path for obtaining things is hard work, you can expect Bill to not only value working hard and putting in extra hours but he will actually strive to do this.
    • On the other hand, if Bill believes that what people think of him will determine whether or not he is somebody and that it is desirable to be known as a hard worker, you can expect Bill to both value working hard on the job and being a hard worker for the purpose of winning the approval and respect of others.
    • One observation from this example is: people can exhibit the same behavior for many different reasons. But, I suggest that the ultimate source for anyone's behavior will ultimately be rooted in either their desire to "save self" through manipulating the created world or their desire to serve the Creator.
  • Questions for reflection:
    • In regard to the behavior of infidelity, did Joseph desire Potiphar's wife? (Genesis 39) Did David desire Bathsheba? (2 Samuel 11) What caused Joseph to behave differently than David? What did each of them believe? How could David have prepared himself against infidelity?
    • If a person believes "you are what you drive" or "you are what you wear," how will that person's life differ from the life of the person who believes Jesus' words, "your life does not consist in what you have." (Luke 12:15) How will Jesus' teachings affect their use of money? What difference in purpose will be driving how each of them uses money?
    • What will a person desire and what will his behavior be if he fully embraces the counsel of Ecclesiastes that earthly pursuits are simply vanity and a striving to catch the wind? What if someone rejects this message? What paths might his life take? What will a person desire and what will his behavior if he believes that the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep his commandments? (Ecclesiastes 12:13) Conversely, what might the life of someone look like if he rejects this teaching?
• We all have problems, we simply choose the type of problems we want.
  • Eve had the choice of two different types of problems. She could choose the consequences of sinning against God or not personally experiencing what the forbidden fruit would do.
  • Depending on his situation, Bill the hard worker may have a choice between family problems because he is never home or not having the extra money to buy everything he wants.
  • How people respond to Christ will create a problem. Either people are choosing the problem of ridicule and persecution because they serve Christ or the consequences of death because of their sin.
• People initially develop emotional and behavioral problems as a consequence of believing that their well-being and self-worth are tied to something within this world.
  • What sort of problems might develop?
    • Either a treadmill existence of partial satisfaction (the so called well-adjusted person) or despondency and despair will be the result if someone succeeds in achieving the pinnacle of his worldly based means to be somebody and be secure. Just think about the list of people you know who achieved great fame, celebrity status, etc. and thus who "had it all," but who either could not endure living life any longer or they waffle in and out of satisfaction and despair.
    • On the other hand, when one's path toward serving self through the means of this world is blocked, anger, anxiety, and guilt are just some of the emotions which can erupt. These emotions might be directed at oneself, others or the situation. Such emotional problems then often lead to creating various forms of behavioral problems.
  • Example of Eve. When one reads the Genesis account of the serpent tempting Eve, the serpent essentially said, this fruit (something created) can make you really important so that you will be like God. It is only after Eve began to believe that the fruit will make her "better" that she desired the fruit and subsequently exhibited the sinful behavior of breaking God's command. In this regard see also 1 John 2:15-17.
  • Example of Bill the hard worker.
    • It may be that Bill discovers that he does not have the job skills, etc. necessary to earn what he believes he needs in order to be somebody. As a result, Bill will feel inferior and probably feel self-hatred, anger and guilty for not being "better." With these destructive feelings, various forms of destructive behavior can appear as Bill tries to either "forget" that he is a nobody or punish himself for not being better.
    • On the other hand, it may be that Bill is exceedingly successful at what he does. And for the most part everything may seem to be going along fairly well as he continues to climb the corporate ladder. With each new advancement comes a new set of challenges to conquer. His mind is continually preoccupied with managing his world to be a success and perhaps he does not take much time to reflect about life and the meaning of it all. But what happens when he reaches the top and its time for reflection since there are no more rungs to climb? He will either attempt to convince himself that he is somebody and then waffle between emptiness and satisfaction or he will come to the realization that nothing of what he has done is truly significant and that he has been striving to catch the wind. Unless he finds some other basis for life, despair is inevitable.
• Difficult situations and adversity can be very threatening to those who build their lives upon the shifting sands of reputation, acquiring goods, education, job skills, etc. By way of contrast, Jesus taught that we should not even fear the person who can kill our bodies (Luke 12:4; Matthew 10:28). This teaching is suggestive and illustrative of the fundamental security and well-being the disciple can enjoy regardless of the situation. Even in this extreme situation, the disciple's being should not be fundamentally threatened. Why? Because the anchor of a disciple's hope, his self-worth and security is beyond the enemy's temporal reach.
  • Paul wrote that he had learned the secret of being content in every situation. Philippians 4:11-13 Predictably, Paul's identity was wrapped up in being a servant of Jesus Christ who empowered him to live for Christ.
• The biblical key to solving many emotional and behavioral problems requires a person to align his belief system with God's Word. In other words, behavioral and emotional problems can be prevented and resolved as much as is possible through altering one's belief system.
  • Example of Bill the hard worker. If Bill comes to believe that what truly matters is serving God and that God can and will take care of him, then his reasons for feeling angry and for perhaps even exhibiting negative behavior toward those obstacles preventing him from achieving worldly-centered goals have been eliminated. Furthermore, the desire to serve God would create a positive meaning and guiding direction for his life. He will still have a solid work ethic. But now his motivation is to work as unto the Lord because of who God has made him to be and not as a means to become someone. If he has been voluntarily overworking and neglecting his family or other priorities, this new orientation in life will alter this behavior as well. And if his ability to work might be threatened through old age or health problems, there is no attack on his fundamental security and self-worth because God remains the One who is taking care of him and who gives him his identity. He will have experienced freedom.
• Human life is fundamentally the struggle between choosing whether to serve God or to serve idols. Idolatry leads to a great many problems both now and later.
  • Idolatry is in essence the attempt to use the created world (or forces that are believed to control creation) to make me somebody and make me secure. Thus, greed is idolatry, Col. 3:5: Eph. 5:5. Why are people greedy? When people believe that "having things" or acquiring a certain position will make them somebody and therefore will take care of them, the motivation driving life will be greed. In Luke 12:15 Jesus provides the scriptural antidote for this false belief.
  • The created world was never intended by God to provide for our deepest needs of self-worth and security. Idolatry involves believing that created things do hold promise for taking care of my life.
    • The biblical message is that the promises of idolatry are empty and deceiving. They amount to nothing more than broken cisterns. Jeremiah 2:11-13; Matthew 13:22; 1 Timothy 6:17
    • Many people today seek to find meaning in their life through their human relationships. While most Bible believing people will recognize that God never intended for us to depend upon money, some may not have realized that God also never intended for us to depend upon our relationship with our spouse in order to make our world go round. Rather, God would have us gain meaning, identity and security from our relationship with Him and then we can be a blessing to our human relationships.
  • Idolatry thrives even in secular societies where people have denied the possibility of gods interacting with this world. Since the secular person no longer believes that an idol can provide for his life, he has no desire to push an idol's button by sacrificing to it, etc. However, the secular idolater is still devoted to pushing the buttons of what he believes will take care of him. This person will worship his education, social contacts, finances, position, possessions, power, what people think of me, etc. For these idols which he believes will take care of him, he is willing to sacrifice time, money and energy.
  • Questions for pondering.
    • Is there any evidence that at times ancient Israel simultaneously worshiped both God and idols? What did God think about this?
    • If Israel did attempt to cover all of her bases by worshiping both the Lord and idols, is it possible for a Christian today to worship God in order to receive salvation while also worshiping something in creation as a means for taking care of himself now? Along these lines you might want to consider 1 Corinthians 10.
• To serve God requires a person to die to himself and to give up on trying to save his life through something in the created order. For example, what others may think of me, what I have, my position, etc. It is not possible to serve both Self through the means of money and God.
• Whether one serves God or serves idolatry will determine the motivation and the methods for how that person uses his worldly resources. It is any surprise that Jesus often spoke of the judgment in terms of what one had done? Each person is either seeking to lay up treasure in heaven or trying to store up treasure in his barns on earth.
• To truly help someone requires more than providing some coping techniques. It requires a life reorientation to align that person with the truth thus setting them free from the prison of idols.
  • It is possible that some might criticize Jesus' conversation with the woman at the well (John 4) as being insensitive to her needs. After all, she had experienced multiple marriages which probably indicates she was fairly heavily scarred. Furthermore, she was at the well in the hot noon day sun perhaps indicating that she was trying to withdraw socially from the other women. How did Jesus respond to her pain? Did he empathize with her situation and tell her he understood? No. Did he ask her what she thought was right or what she thought would make her feel good? No. Jesus spoke her language as he called her away from depending on created things (physical water) to rely instead upon himself (living water). Jesus sought to change her belief system to rely upon himself, instead of creation!

2. How might a person use this model?

Since many people appear to have difficulty in making a direct connection between much of their daily decision making and the emotions they are feeling with their efforts to serve their master and the love of their life, therefore it would appear that most people would not perceive the relevancy between quoting scriptures regarding who God is and what it means to serve Him with their daily behavior. To help a person arrive at the point where they can begin to perceive the relevancy of scripture to their problems, the decisions they are continually making and the direction their life is going, it will probably be helpful to step them through a process whereby they are enabled to realize where their behavior is coming from and what their behavior is trying to achieve for them.

You may want to reread John 4 to see how the Master Teacher approached a wounded person to bring healing. (See note above) Notice how the woman at the well tried to divert the attention off of herself. Should we expect anything less of people today?

Here are some suggestions which may be helpful.

1. Have the person identify the problem behavior and/or emotions which he does not want. (The assumption being made here is that the identified emotion and behavior will be something foreign to the fruits of the Spirit and living by the Spirit).
   • Is the behavior trying to get around an obstacle? Is the emotion a reaction to an obstacle which is blocking the path to obtaining something which is valued? What is the obstacle? What is this obstacle preventing the person from achieving? What is the goal of the person? Why does this person believe this goal is important?
   • Are the behavior and emotions the result of discovering emptiness in life?
   • Using the model above, why is the person experiencing this emotion?
   • Are there a number of different problems?
2. Help the person to discover his belief system and the goals he is pursuing which are leading him to feel and act as he does. Chances are, this person is trying to save his life through obtaining or controlling something which has been created.
   • What does he want?
     • Why is this so important?
     • What does he believe it would mean about him if he can not achieve this goal?
   • What is being valued? Why does he believe it is valuable?
3. When a person realizes the relationship between his behavior and his master and how his behavior is ultimately coming from his belief system, then the relevancy of God's Word ought to be clear.
   • Lovingly confront the person with scripture about who God is, His promises to provide us with security and an identity that is truly meaningful (i.e. being a child of God).
   • Lovingly confront the person with scripture regarding the alternative way of living life and the emptiness which comes from idolatry.
   • Share the good news of Jesus Christ and God's desire that this person gives his life to the Lord.

Truly serving God requires each one to die to himself that he might live for God. What is being described here is true conversion to God, not a Christian veneer with God playing the role of an eternal life insurance policy in someone's back pocket. Not everyone has ears to hear. Not everyone will experience the healing Jesus brings to broken lives when we serve Jesus as Lord. Not everyone will enjoy a peace which passes understanding enabling them to be content in whatever situation they may find themselves. Not everyone will listen. But for those who are willing, God has provided the way.

While this article describes the change of allegiance required by the Gospel in conversion, it does not address how the gospel calls us to respond to Jesus that he might save us. Biblical counseling will often involve evangelism. Just as Jesus cloaked his evangelistic message in the terms of supplying the felt need (i.e. living water so that she would never be thirsty again) so too evangelism will often need to initially present the message in a manner which will be perceived to address the problem at hand. For example, someone might need to present Jesus as the Great Physician who heals broken lives. Truly man does not live by bread alone (something created) but by every word which proceeds out of the mouth of God.

Barry Newton, Copyright © 2000

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