June 16, 2015

Scripture Speaks to Mental Health

      When looking through the website of the National Institute of Health, one can easily find a definition for mental illness: A health condition that changes a person’s thinking, feelings, or behavior and that causes the person distress and difficulty in functioning. When searching for a definition of mental health, on the other hand, finding a definition becomes more difficult. I think the reason for this is the lack of a standard among schools of psychology. In the Fall of 1977, Jay Adams pointed this out in an address he delivered to the faculty and student body of the University Psychiatric Clinic in Vienna, Austria. Adams noted that, at the time, there were 230 schools of psychotherapy and counseling, many with very disparate viewpoints, and “there is no common standard for what a human being ought to look like.”

      While there is no standard in the world of psychology, Scripture does give us one. Romans 8:29 tells us that we are being conformed to the image of Christ and the Apostle Paul wrote in Colossians 1:28: “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.” Here, I would propose that mental health is steadily growing in Christian maturity and dealing with all of life’s issues in a way that glorifies God.

      Dealing with people who struggle mentally, or as the NIH puts it are in “distress” and have “difficulty in functioning” is not new to the church. Winfried Schleiner, a Professor of English at UC Davis, studied 500 years of history from the Renaissance through the Reformation and wrote an article entitled “Renaissance Exempla of Schizophrenia: The Cure by Charity in Luther and Cervantes.” In this article, he mentions three cases Martin Luther dealt with. They included: a psychotic man who thought he was a rooster; a depressed and psychotic man who stayed in his cellar, claiming he was dead; and a voluntary-retentive person, meaning one who refused to urinate. Schleiner explains that with great sympathy and compassion, “Luther listened well to people’s personal history. He reintegrated deeply troubled people into the Body of Christ by using his personal relationship to encounter another person on behalf of God. Through redemptive relationships the troubled person’s image of God and relationship to God were altered, which brought integration to their personality” (Note 1) (emphasis added). Schleiner even labeled Luther’s approach “compassionate reintegration.” (Note 2)

      Like Luther, we can bring hope and healing as counselors and ministers of the gospel and, again like Luther, we can help alter a person’s image of God and relationship with God. As the Body of Christ, God calls us to respond compassionately and comprehensively to individuals (and their families) suffering with troubling emotions and thoughts. First Corinthians 10:13 offers us great hope in this area as we read that, “no temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” The word translated as “temptation” is peirasmos, which can also be translated as “trial” – the Scriptures guide us in how to help people deal with their trials as well as their temptations. We can bring them to the Person of Jesus Christ through the Scriptures since it is He who brings them healing and wholeness.

     Some people still struggle greatly with emotional and cognitive issues just as they did in Luther’s day. But, again like Luther, we find good news in Scripture. Second Corinthians 4:16 tells us that “though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.” Because of this we know that even those with brain diseases can respond to God. The heart can be renewed and reflect the light of Christ even when the brain is weak or wasting away. In his book Blame it on the Brain?, Ed Welch draws a helpful diagram, the gist of which is, when dealing with people who have true brain disease, we gather as much information as we can, we then distinguish between spiritual and physical symptoms, strengthen the physical aspects and help correct weaknesses where possible, and address the heart issues.

     Whenever we counsel, whether or not the person is dealing with mental illness, we always stress the indicatives of Scripture – what Christ has done for us – before launching into the imperatives – how we must live in light of what Christ has done. One Scriptural admonition the counselor must always keep in mind is 1 Thessalonians 5:14, where Paul urges us to “admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.”

      We'll deal with depression as one example of how to help people who are struggling with recurring and difficult issues. Depression which is something many people deal with. As with anyone, we must listen intently and compassionately, realizing that my experience of depression is unlike theirs.  Perhaps the depression is due to unconfessed sin (this is the easy case!), in which case we can go to Psalm 32 which David wrote after he repented from his sin with Bathsheba.  His "before and after" experience is both instructive and encouraging. Perhaps the person is depressed due to financial loss or from the evil-doings of others, with no sin at all on his part. Here, a study of how to deal with suffering from James 1, Romans 5, 1 Peters 2, or Psalm 73 would be extremely helpful as we attempt to look at suffering from a biblical viewpoint. Sometimes people are depressed and we just don't know why. In this case, a study of Psalms 42 and 43, with the refrain of “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” That refrain reminds one of the advice given by Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones: "Stop listening to yourself and start talking to yourself." In this circumstance, one needs to "think on these things" (Phil 4:8) as we meditate on eternal truths as opposed to pessimistic thought. I don't mean to make this process sound like it's quick and simple - this short paragraph can represent months of walking along side of someone, helping them re-shape their understanding of who God is, what He has done for the believer, and how we can live in light of the gospel (Rom 12:2 and Eph 4:23). 

     In general, we must use Scripture to shape accurate thoughts about God and to strengthen our relationship with God. Just like Luther, we want to help the person develop that accurate image of God (know Him better) and as a result, draw into a deeper and more robust relationship with God. While we must focus on the comprehensive capacities of the heart—our inner person; we can’t ignore the relationship between the heart and two central arenas of influence: the body (we are embodied beings—nature) and our social environment (we are embedded beings—nurture).

     We want to begin with the gospel. Help people understand salvation and sanctification (becoming more like Christ). Help them develop biblically-based thinking, discover the issues of the heart – what are their true desires and how do they line up with Scripture? Address the whole person. Understand the influences of nature and nurture while helping them change their motivation from self-pleasing to God pleasing. The goal is a God-honoring lifestyle of thinking, wanting, and doing as a whole person, and image bearer of God. That is true victory. This is mental health.

Note 1: Winfried Schleiner, “Renaissance Exempla of Schizophrenia: The Cure by Charity in Luther and Cervantes”, Renaissance and Reformation, Internet, http://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/renref/article/ view/12302/9164, accessed May 14, 2015.

Note 2: Robert Kellerman, Mental Illness and the Church: Developing a Compassionate and Comprehensive Biblical Counseling Response, Presentation, 2015.