09 Emotional Obstacles to Wisdom

Grand Canyon University's One Foundation presents the beginning of wisdom and introduction to Christian thought and life, fourth edition by the faculty of GCU's College of Theology, bread by Eric Johnson. Chapter 9 Emotional Obstacles to Wisdom by Jim Uley My heart is in anguish within me. The terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me. And I say, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove, I would fly away and be at rest. Yes, I would wander far away. I would lodge in the wilderness, I would hurry to find a shelter from the raging wind and tempest." Psalm 55 verses 4 through 8. Introduction The previous chapters have discussed some obstacles to embracing the wisdom and the worldview revealed in Jesus Christ. Some of the obstacles that have been addressed were absolute truth and absolutes immorality and the problem of evil and suffering. Previous chapters also revealed how God has acted in Christ to redeem humanity from sin and one day will end the misery caused by sin. Trusting that God does not abandon his people to suffer on earth helps a person accept and endure life's pain. This chapter addresses some emotional obstacles to embracing the wisdom and worldview of Jesus Christ. Jesus equated living life according to His Word to building a house on solid rock instead of sand, found in Matthew 7 verses 24 through 27. To build one's life on the words of Jesus requires faith in the trustworthiness of His words, which requires trust in Him as a person. The Christian worldview identifies Jesus as the ultimate self-revelation of God. He is the creator, sustainer, and redeemer of the universe. As the universe is massively more than anyone can imagine, its creator is infinitely more than his creation. This God, Christians believe, new people could not know Him unless He showed Himself to them. God revealed Himself to various people in the Bible and then through Jesus became human Himself. This chapter will look at some of the emotional storms that come to test a person's foundation and will seek to discover whether Jesus and His words are an adequate foundation on which to build a wise life. Negative emotional experiences from a Christian experience. In this life, sooner or later, people and counters storm that frightens them. Consider the story of the disciples caught in a storm while crossing the sea of Galilee. Quote, "When evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat and started across the sea to cappurnum. It was now dark and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rode about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. But He said to them, "It is I, do not be afraid." Then they were glad to take Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going. John 6.16-21 In this passage of Scripture, the storm itself frightened the disciples because storms on that body of water were often life-threatening. But then they saw someone walking to them in the storm. John, the teller of the story, placed his emphasis on their fear of seeing this, but Jesus calmed their fear, and they welcomed him into the boat. Then they were immediately at their destination. In an extended account of this story, the disciples had a powerful response to this event, "And those in the boat worshipped Him, saying, 'Truly you are the Son of God,'" and, "found in Matthew 1433." The disciples had a worldview that did not include flesh and blood humans being able to walk on water, calm storms, or shorten a trip rowing across a lake. As frightening as the storm must have been, having their worldview challenged was perhaps even more frightening. Here was a human being who was showing power that was incomprehensible. Because it is common knowledge that humans cannot do such things, the disciples' fear and confusion are understandable. While all emotions serve a positive purpose, people dislike negative emotions, such as fear, sadness, and anger, preferring instead to experience positive emotions, including confidence, joy, and peace. Yet negative emotions exist to serve as warnings and defenses. Fear warns that there may be a risk of being harmed. Being sad is a result of experiencing loss or failure. Anger can be an emotional response to being violated, or a victim of injustice that urges a person to engage in self-defense or defense of others. Five important negative emotional states commonly experienced in the modern world are loneliness, meaninglessness, depression, guilt, and shame. As this chapter moves from understanding the emotional obstacles to wisdom to being more prescriptive, it should be noted that both the best secular research on what it means to be a healthy human and the Christian perspective on wholeness agree at many points. Where they disagree is on the necessity of recognizing and living in a relationship with God. People with secular views think they are fine without God, and if humans are defined as completely non-spiritual beings who cease to exist after death, there is no need to have a relationship with God. But if humans are understood to be a body, a mind, and a soul or spirit, then holistic solutions are needed, and people must grasp an understanding of the intentions of the Creator. Loneliness. Loneliness is a feeling of not belonging and being disconnected from other people in instances of love and friendship. People feel lonely when they do not feel others understand their feelings and thoughts or care about them as a person. Everyone experiences loneliness. A divorce, the death of a spouse, job changes, moving, and other large shifts in life can leave people especially vulnerable to loneliness. Loneliness is part of, quote, "biological, early warning machinery," end quote, that alerts people to the fact that their social selves are at risk, Katsuyapo 2013. Loneliness and isolation increase the likelihood of early death by 45%. Whether an individual believes humans evolved from social animals or were designed by God to be social, the end message is the same. Holness requires a connection. In Genesis chapter 2, God created a man and called him Adam. After bringing all the animals to him to be named, God recognized that a suitable partner had not been found for Adam and that it was not good for man to be alone, so God created a woman. Adam was excited to meet Eve and said, quote, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man," end quote, Genesis 2, 23. God made provision for human loneliness by creating the first family. God has placed love in the world and made it possible for people to find it in romantic relationships and friendships. Even more importantly, God has continued to offer humans companionship with him. David, who was a shepherd before becoming one of Israel's most famous kings, wrote the following words, quote, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his names sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23, 1 through 4. Because people were made for a relationship with God, only a personal connection with the God who loves them unconditionally can fully satisfy that longing. Meaninglessness. If one believes in a creator, then it becomes easy to think that this creator has a purpose for humanity and that life has meaning. If humanity is a cosmic accident as some worldviews would espouse, then it becomes hard to believe that there is any meaning to existence. What one thinks leads to how one feels. This leads to another common difficulty that humans encounter, the feeling of meaninglessness. For many people, life is a series of experiences strung together that seem to have no meaning, purpose, or goal. Is it possible for humans to create meaning for their lives that is adequate to sustain them? Often people attempt to create or find meaning for their lives in things that are fleeting and shallow. Biblical wisdom says that there is a creator, and he designed individuals for his purpose and in his image. He has a purpose for humanity that can be discovered but not created. The Christian worldview is clear that God has created everything for a purpose and that people have meaning. Victor Frankl, a psychiatrist who wrote of his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp, wrote, "Man is not destroyed by suffering. He is destroyed by suffering without meaning." Medical ethicists have reminded us that religion and spirituality form the basis of meaning and purpose for many people, Puchowski 2001. The author of Ecclesiastes, considered by many to be King Solomon, found that all that he had and all that he had learned and experienced was tainted by the coming of death. He believed that death equalized the rich and the poor, the wise and the foolish, those whose lives were long and those whose lives were short. Without a clear hope beyond death and a word from the creator as to an individual's purpose, humans are left to invent a reason for being. In the book of Jeremiah, Israel was conquered and many of its people were carried into slavery because the nation had abandoned their God. Yet in Jeremiah, chapter 29, verses 11-12, the prophet spoke for God, saying, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "Plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you." This multi-generational promise gave meaning to the suffering of the current generation and promised blessings to future generations. When Jesus came, he pulled back the veil that had hidden God's final plan of redemption and restoration with words like those found in Matthew chapter 22 verses 29-33, quote. "But Jesus answered them, 'You are wrong because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.' And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God, 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?' He is not God of the dead but of the living, and when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching," end quote. To gain true wisdom, the human experience in this life must be placed in the larger context of being created beings that need redemption and restoration. The worldview of a Christian is that the one true and eternal God has a purpose for each person. Understanding this is wisdom. Depression Depression is not a simple word. Most people have felt depressed at one time or another, and generally people can rebound from this. Some forms of depression are caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain that requires medication. However, for many people, events triggered depression. Depression can be linked to a loss of hope for the future and is relieved when hope is restored. As no one goes into a marriage hoping for a breakup, a divorce often is felt as loss and failure. People look at marriage as the beginning of the fulfillment of many dreams. However, in the United States and certainly elsewhere in the world, marriages often end in divorce, and it is natural to feel grief and sadness when a marriage ends just as one feels when a loved one dies. In such situations, people experience five stages of grief, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Most people experiencing significant loss will go through these stages, making depression a normal part of recovering from a loss. It appears that given time and adequate support, humans are designed in such a way that hope returns to them. Without such hope, living a rich and full life is not possible. Humans are designed to hope. The Apostle Paul said, "So now faith, hope, and love abide. These three, but the greatest of these is love," end quote, according to 1 Corinthians 13-13. This shows that hope is essential to life, along with love and faith. Jesus came to give hope for both living this life well and for eternal life. What a person believes about his or her circumstances and future impacts his or her feelings. For instance, when people say to themselves, "This situation is terrible, it will never get better. This misery will go on for the rest of my life," end quote. They likely will feel depressed. On the other hand, when self-talk sounds more like, quote, "This situation is temporary, better days are ahead. I will endure and no joy again," end quote. There is a greater likelihood that the individual will be able to fight off depression. In the Bible, Job had a big family, wealth, health, and faith found in Job chapters 1 through 2. When he lost everything, including his health, he questioned the justice of God and criticized his friends for their lack of compassion for him in his suffering. He became depressed, which, as discussed earlier, is a natural part of the grieving process. At Job's low point, God spoke to him, but God did not respond to Job's doubts and questions directly. Instead, God spoke of his wisdom, power, and glory. Job responded by saying, quote, "I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you. Therefore, I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes." Found in Job chapter 42 verses 5 through 6. Following this encounter, God begins restoring Job's life, commending him for his faith in the face of great adversity. Job shows that, though there are dark valleys in life, God is present. He is listening and watching. He is not unaware of the times of deep sadness in people's lives. The Apostle Paul wrote, quote, "So we do not lose heart, though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient. But the things that are unseen are eternal." 2 Corinthians 4, 16 through 18. When people are able to believe and think in this way, they are able to fight through the times of depression that come to most everyone and renew their hope. 2) Guild is a negative emotion that can have the effect of teaching a person. Human beings are moral creatures. Ethical and moral decisions are inescapable in life. In the Christian worldview, God is a moral being who made humans capable of moral choices. All cultures teach that stealing is wrong. However, according to the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, quote, "approximately 1 in 11 Americans shoplift," end quote. If caught and found guilty of the crime, the person will be punished. It does not matter if the shoplifter feels guilty or not. The punishment will be administered. Yet, feeling guilty is important because it indicates that the person could recognize that shoplifting is wrong, meaning he or she still has a conscience and has not rationalized and excused this behavior. Guild warns people to avoid doing things that violate the moral code they have been taught. Guild also punishes people for violating their morals and values. The more serious the violation, the more painful the feeling of guilt is for the person. A single violation can cause a person to feel guilty again and again, which helps deter him or her from committing similar acts. Everyone fails to live up to his or her moral code and almost everyone experiences guilt. Guilt cannot exist without a moral law. People could not feel guilty if they did not know what to do and what to do. not to do. This is not to say that all cultures agree exactly on what is moral and what is immoral, but all cultures have a moral law and teach it to their children. If a person does wrong, he or she should feel guilty, but then what? The individual should learn from the experience and act with more integrity in the future. Guilt is designed to push a person in the direction of acting morally to the extent that he or she understands morality, but is there something more? Is there forgiveness? Does forgiveness relieve guilt? The Prophet Isaiah served God at a time when few were keeping the covenant established between Israel and God by Moses. His calling to be a prophet is described in Isaiah chapter 6. He had a vision of God sitting on a throne surrounded by six-winged angels called Seraphim. He heard them calling to one another, quote, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts." The whole earth is full of his glory, end quote, Isaiah chapter 6 verse 3. The angels were saying two important things. God is holy and God is glorious. Consider for a moment what it means that God is holy. This means that God's every action, decision, thought, and intention is perfect and above reproach. He is righteous. He is other than his creation, set apart from the imperfections of humanity. Isaiah's response to seeing God, quote, "high and lifted up," found in Isaiah 6.1, "was to declare," quote, "whoa is me for I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. For my eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts," end quote, found in Isaiah chapter 6 verse 5. Isaiah recognized that God was holy and that he was not holy, and neither were God's people. If he had just compared himself with other people, he might have thought of himself as a pretty good person, but after seeing God's perfection, he could not see himself as without guilt. God desires for humanity to be holy and have the moral perfection that was given at creation. God wants people to learn from their sins. The Old Testament recounts how people dealt with their guilt by offering sacrifices to a tone for their wrongdoing. This did not really make up for sin, but God promised to forgive when asked and when the proper sacrifices were given with a repentant heart. As we'll be discussed further later, Christ became the final sacrifice to take away the sins of the world, just as John the Baptist said in John chapter 1 verse 29. Shame The final emotional storm to discuss is shame or feelings of worthlessness. Shame is an emotion that is little acknowledged and little understood. Western culture has excluded the discussion of shame as an issue until recently. Shame is a human emotion that is different from guilt. There is healthy shame, which reminds people that they are human and limited, but there is also unhealthy shame, which tells people they are worthless and incapable of being valuable. While everyone would like to avoid the terrible feeling of shame, what is worse is to be shameless, that is being incapable of recognizing that one has acted dishonorably and has placed his or her worth as a person at risk. Shameless people can be characterized as callous, cold-blooded, hard-hearted, or heartless. Quote, "Same is an inner sense of being completely diminished or insufficient as a person. It is the self judging the self. A moment of shame may be humiliation so painful or an indignity so profound that one feels one has been robbed of her or his dignity or exposed as basically inadequate, bad, defective, or worthy of rejection. A pervasive sense of shame is the ongoing premise that one is fundamentally bad, inadequate, defective, unworthy, or not fully valid as a human being, fossum and mason 1986." Gilt says, "I made a mistake," and "while shame says, quote, I am a mistake," and "according to Brown 2012." Feelings of worthlessness and shame are very powerful. How can they be overcome? Biblical wisdom says that all humans have value because they are created in the image of God. All human beings are valued by their creator. While all feel shame and some even feel worthless at times, this is only a storm that, like the others, can be weathered. Adam and Eve's choice to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil brought sin and evil into their lives and into the lives of all the humans that would come after them. Their active rebellion became an avalanche of consequences that are still falling on humanity today. They experienced both guilt and shame, and they hid from God and covered their nakedness. There had been no shame after nakedness or their sexuality before this moment. They blamed each other and even God for their sin. A common result of feeling shame and worthlessness is blaming others in an attempt to shift the shame to others. In the culture of Israel and the surrounding nations, to have one's sins and failures on display was a terrible thing. Defeat by one's enemies could result in slavery, which meant the loss of all dignity and honor. When God rescued the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt, he was restoring their dignity and honor. He showed that he valued them and valued the old promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Those who were once nothing would become a great nation. The priestly blessing was given to Aaron and his sons to pronounce on the people, "The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace," end quote, found in Numbers 6.24-26. God's face shining upon his people should be seen as a father smiling at his son after he takes his first step, or a mother lifting up her eyes from her work to look with joy upon her daughter as she comes into the room. This is God's desire to bless humanity as his children, to cover human shame with glory and honor. The emotional challenges human beings face are formidable. Everyone is touched by them and some are not resilient enough to deal with them. Loneliness, meaninglessness, depression, guilt, and shame are all difficult. However, they all reveal things about what it means to be human, and there are means available to deal with them. They do not need to become storms that threaten to sink a person's life and drown him or her in despair. Sidebar, a summary view of guilt and shame in the Bible. While for hundreds of years guilt and forgiveness have been a major focus of Western theology, the biblical record strikes a balance between emphasis on shame, honor, and glory and guilt and forgiveness. In the English standard version of the Bible, there are 153 occurrences of the word shame, 21 of which appear in the New Testament. There are 145 occurrences of the word honor, 62 of which appear in the New Testament. There are 169 occurrences of the word guilt and its derivatives, but it is only used 16 times in the New Testament, most of which occurred during the trials of Jesus when he was being accused of various crimes. In 1 Corinthians 15 verse 34, Paul wrote, "Wake up from your drunken stupor as is right and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame." Note that in his concern about sin, Paul tried to motivate his people to act better, not by appealing to guilt, but by going deeper and calling the behavior shameful. "Their end is destruction, their God is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things," and "found in Philippians chapter 3 verse 19." The word "glory and its derivatives" appear 495 times in the Bible. The reward for faithfulness is to share God's glory and to receive honor from Him. "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our Spirit that we are children of God, and if children then errors, errors of God and fellow errors with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified." glorified with him, according to Romans 8 verses 16-17. Looking back to the fall, one can see that Adam and Eve sinned, and they felt shame and a need to hide from God. It is easy to imagine the frown on God's face and the disappointment and disapproval in his voice. From childhood, even the most well-behaved children have experienced disapproval and disappointment from parents and teachers. With this in mind, listen to the blessing Aaron and the priestly tribe of Levi was given to pronounce on the faithful in Israel. Found in Numbers 6 verses 22-26, "Thus you shall bless the people of Israel. You shall say to them, 'The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.' The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace." This is God smiling on his children and restoring peace after the guilt and shame of the past. While guilt indicates when a person has done wrong, shame tells them that they have done wrong because they are wrong. God's shining face takes away one's shame, the deepest sense of being damaged and worthless. God has promised his people that honor and glory will be restored to them. Sidebar Biblical Understanding of Shame in Genesis Biblical shame is the opposite of honor, glory and integrity. Generally, the fall, found in Genesis 3, is interpreted in terms of guilt. God's hands broke God's command and fell under judgment and punishment. God sent them from the garden and death began to inch toward them. An equally present motif in this story is shame. They had nothing to hide, lived in harmony, did not fear each other, and walked in the garden with God. Quote, "Adam and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed," and, "according to Genesis 2.25." An Adam and Eve betrayed their relationship with God. They believed that they could cross their boundaries and God's boundaries and be in God's place. Suddenly, after eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge, their eyes were opened, and they saw that they were naked. They hid from God and from each other. They attempted to establish new boundaries between themselves by making loincloths of leaves and between themselves and God by hiding. These acts attempted to hide the private person from others. Man and woman attempted to defend their threatened esteem by blaming each other, the serpent, and finally God. One can imagine that when God found them and spoke the truth to them, they hung red-faced heads in silent acceptance of the truth about themselves. The fall is followed by both judgment and grace as God called man and woman out of hiding and established new boundaries within which human life can be lived, including giving them clothing to cover their nakedness. The new limit for humanity is established by an angel at the gate who prevents re-entrance into the garden and access to the tree of eternal life. Modern solutions to human emotional struggles There is no conflict between science and Christianity. Conflict arises when the scientist embraces the presupposition that the energy and matter of this universe are all that exist. A Christian researcher believes that there is a creator who stands outside of space and time whose existence cannot be proven by the tools of science. It was he who put order in the universe and specifically in human beings. Beginning with Sigmund Freud, spirituality and religion were downplayed as useless or attacked as being a part of the human problem. Freud believed faith in God was a sign of immaturity. Overall secularism has come to dominate the fields of psychology, sociology and anthropology. Secularism denies that humans have a soul or spiritual nature. Because of this, many attempt to operate under the idea that humans are not spiritual beings. The Bar Religion and Psychology Near the end of his life, Freud wrote Moses and monotheism in which he discussed how Judaism opened many new possibilities for humanity. Carl Jung, Freud's most famous student, rejected Freud's atheism. Jung considered religion an important aspect of being human. He felt it helps to harmonize conscious and unconscious states and condemned secularization as it leads to a "routless existence." The American Psychological Association now has a division called The Society for the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality and publishes Psychology of Religion and Spirituality a peer-reviewed journal. This brief survey of psychology should demonstrate that psychology and religion are not hostile to each other by nature. Christianity's function in emotional life is to answer key questions tied to meaning, purpose, forgiveness, and belonging that address the emotional obstacles of life. These questions include, "Where did I come from? Where am I going? What is the significance or meaning of my life? Why do I suffer? Why do I feel that there is a right and wrong? Why is there morality and conscience? What should I do? If life is unjust, why do I feel this is wrong? Why do I experience beauty, awe, and transcendence?" The progress is being made in the counseling and psychology fields to take spirituality into account in understanding humans and to respect those with a Christian worldview. According to Basham and Okhanur in 2005, "spirituality and religion are critical sources of strength for many clients, offering a direction as they make crucial life decisions. These can make use of the spiritual and religious beliefs of their clients as they explore and resolve their problems, as cited in Kori, Kori, and Kalanan 2011." Modern spirituality Another modern solution to emotional struggles is a movement in which people consider themselves spiritual but not religious, meaning that they believe they have a spiritual core or a soul and that there is a spiritual presence in the universe, but they are not connected to any religious tradition that might help them define that presence. They embrace a syncretistic approach or syncretism. In this approach, people take ideas from different traditions without concern for how the ideas interact or logical consistency. On closer consideration, the core worldview beliefs mixed from pantheism and theism contradict one another, which can create further emotional turmoil. Many people have had moments in which they have had experiences of transcendence and awareness of their being more to life than can be accounted for by proposing that humans are just bodies and brains. They feel love and connect with other people. They long for a deeper understanding of existence and they have eternity on their minds. Quote "He, that is God, has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end." Found in Ecclesiastes 3.11 Can it be that the wonder of all that is being a human does not end at death? Can it be true that the love built between parents and children, husbands and wives is much more than an expression of the need to survive? Are humans more than just a body and a brain? Those who ascribe to the Christian worldview believe that there is more. Addiction, essential clues into the essence of being human. Alcoholics Anonymous is recognized by those working in the addiction field as a highly successful means of creating lasting change. According to Laude et En White in 2005, "Concurrently, affiliation with 12 step groups has been consistently linked to the achievement of abstinence among persons experiencing alcohol and other drug problems." Like the Ten Commandments found in Exodus chapter 20, Alcoholics Anonymous's 12-step program gives guidance for living in a positive relationship with God, what the steps refer to as a higher power, and acting responsibly with other people. Addicts have lost their way and must return to the essentials of life to recover. They find support and community in the 12-step program and other self-help groups. There are also explicitly Christian recovery programs such as Celebrate Recovery, which is a Christ-centered 12-step program. Addiction can strip people down until little of their original humanity is left, yet the essence is there and can be restored. For most addicts, this restoration requires a connection to God. The fact that people do recover should be seen as evidence of His gracious care. Sidebar Insights into Humanity through Addiction It is easy to see how the biology of addiction works. By habitually using a substance to feel better, the body comes to need the substance just to feel normal. In addition to achieve the feeling of the initial high, the body needs more. Eventually the body craves the substance and the addict will do anything to get it. Because the brain contains the body's pleasure centers, the brain becomes addicted to the substance. Changes take place in the brain that perpetuate addiction. Gerald May in 1988, an expert in helping to understand the connection of the will and spirit to addiction, explained that the human will becomes attached to addictive behaviors and once that happens, the addict becomes powerless over the behaviors. This explains why will power usually fails to free individuals from addiction, or it frees them from one addiction but replaces it with another. The spirit is the means of renewal for the will and mind and for the spirit to be renewed, it must find a strength beyond itself. Of his personal experience, May in 1988 wrote, "To state it quite simply, I had tried to run my own life on the basis of my own willpower alone. When my supply of success at this egotistic autonomy ran out, I became depressed. And with the depression by means of grace came a chance for spiritual openness." As a medical doctor and psychoanalyst, May in 1988 is in a unique position to integrate biology, neurology, and psychology with spirituality. He is convinced that, at their core, humans are spiritual. "May," said Quote, "ultimately our yearning for God is the most important aspect of our humanity, our most precious treasure. It gives us meaning and direction." As growth and progress in life require effort and suffering, shortcuts to an easy and happy life are always dead ends. Addiction leads to spiritual death, along with all the other damage it does to one's biology and psychology. May in 1988 stated that surrendering to grace is needed for true healing and restoration. He encouraged people to live life, quote, "in a truly undefended and open-eyed way," end quote. In Matthew chapter 11 verses 28 through 30, Jesus said, quote, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." This invitation is open and applicable to everyone, but it offers addicts a particularly pointed application. When a substance or process addiction wears a person out, when attempts to control life exhausts a person, when one encounters a dead end by taking shortcuts, he or she can listen to Jesus. His yoke or harness is easy compared to the enslavement of addiction. He is kind, gentle, and loving, and through Christ, people struggling with addictions can find peace for their souls. How Jesus speaks in the storms? Meaning and community. Quote, "In the two great commandments, God reveals the mystery of why humanity exists. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment, and the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew chapter 22 verses 36 through 39. If, as Jesus said, "These are the highest imperatives God gives," then human purpose in existing is to fulfill them. Every person ever born can do these things to some extent, but in Christ people can become new creations, empowered by the Holy Spirit to love their neighbors as themselves. While finding one's specific purpose must be discovered individually, the general and more important purpose is to love. With human loneliness and the sense of meaninglessness are provided for in these commandments. When people love others and love God, they find that they are not so lonely. In giving to others and to God, humans find what they need, purpose, and love. If one lives for any other purpose than these, such as experiences of pleasure, gathering wealth, or making a name for oneself, then this individual is not serving the purpose for which he or she was created. Therefore, the individual will experience the threat of death as the end of his or her self-created meaning. By the way that he lived his life, Jesus showed that love is the meaning of life. He loved his father and gave himself in service to those he met. Ultimately, he died for the love of God and all those that he was seeking to redeem. Healing and Compassion Jesus also speaks powerfully into people's physical and emotional suffering. "While he, that is Jesus, was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean." And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will. Be clean." And immediately the leprosy left him, found in Luke, chapter 5, verses 12-13. Leppers were outcasts because the disease was thought to be contagious and incurable. People never touched lepers, but in this story Jesus touched a leper. They could not work or live with their families, and yet Jesus let this leper come near. They were unclean and thus barred from the temple and synagogue. To develop leprosy was to receive a death sentence, not unlike the early victims of AIDS. In this story Jesus did two astounding things. First, in healing this desperate man, Jesus gave him back his life. Second, Jesus touched him. For as long as this man had been sick, he had not been touched by a healthy person. If a leper came too close, it was perfectly permissible to begin throwing stones to drive him or her away. But Jesus touched this leper. In doing so Jesus became unclean too in the eyes of those who witnessed this act of compassion. No one would want to touch Jesus now because he might be a carrier of the disease. Jesus risked his status and well-being in this simple act of compassion. He certainly could have healed the leper with a verbal command as he had done in other cases, but in this instance he touched the man. In moments of physical and emotional suffering, Jesus can touch people. He is close. He desires to embrace everyone. A person may not receive physical healing, but his touch can sustain them in the storm. He is with everyone. Forgiveness Jesus speaks to humans in their guilt and offers forgiveness for their wrongdoing. Anyone who believes that it is unnecessary to receive forgiveness from God either does not think God exists or has a very selective memory. If no one sinned, no sacrifice would have been needed. Those who sined 2,000 years after Jesus came are also charged with wrongdoing by the moral law that comes from God's essential goodness. And John Chapters. Eighth, a woman caught in the act of adultery was brought to Jesus so that he could be trapped in his words. The law demanded stoning, but Jesus was known to be compassionate. He was asked what should be done to her. His famous response was, quote, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her," and, quote, found in John chapter 8 verse 7. Then the older ones walked away first. While being aware of one's guilt is not pleasant, it is much worse to be unaware of it. Quote, Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord," and Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go and from now on sin no more." John 8, 10-11. Another example of Jesus offering forgiveness is seen while Jesus is on the cross. Quote, "Two others who were criminals were led away to be put to death with him, and when they came to the place that is called the skull, there they crucified him, that is, Jesus, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left." And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do, and they cast lots to divide his garments, and the people stood by watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, 'He saved others, let him save himself.' If he is the Christ of God, his chosen one, Luke chapter 23 verses 32 through 35. Jesus went to the cross voluntarily. His words of forgiveness for those who physically crucified him apply today to all who have committed sins. Jesus came as a sacrifice that would take away the guilt of all mankind before God. God is all goodness, all love, and all justice. Jesus, as the full expression of who God is, came to live amongst humans on earth to be the pure and perfect sacrifice that would free humanity from the bonds of sin." Relatable Experiences During his time on earth, Jesus experienced shame. Crucifixion was invented by the Greeks and adopted by the Romans as a means of inflicting a humiliating death on their enemies. This torturous public death was a means of intimidating conquered nations. Jesus was stripped of his clothing and nailed to the cross. His family, friends, and enemies were all there to watch. The earliest writers who discussed the cross said things like, "Look to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God," and, "found in Hebrews 12, too." Strengthened by the promise of joy and being exalted by God for his sacrifice, Jesus faced shame and physical suffering. The cross becomes the sign of God's wisdom and power. The Apostle Paul said, "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing. But to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart," found in 1 Corinthians 1 verses 18 through 19. The earliest disciples were ridiculed for being the followers of a crucified Lord. How could the Son of God allow Himself to be killed, especially in this way? The answer is that He wanted the lowest of the low, those stripped of all dignity and hope, all self-determination and pride, all health and happiness, to know that He was with them. To the political prisoner in solitary confinement being secretly tortured, Jesus has been there. For the cancer patient, enduring one more experimental treatment as His or Her body wastes away, remember Jesus, too, has suffered. To the addicted person who has lost all in pursuit of another moment of release, Jesus had everything taken from Him, too. The shame, the feeling of being abandoned and worthless, was willingly endured by Jesus in order that all might know He truly was human, identifying with humanity in every way. As discussed in chapter 5, in the cross, the true nature of God is seen, self-sacrificing love. Jesus speaks peace into all the storms of life. Jesus promises to restore the image of God in people and to crown them with glory and honor. In the story of the prodigal son, a young man took his inheritance from his father and went to a far country to have a good time. He thought life in the first century equivalent of Las Vegas would be a lot more fun than life on the farm. After he lost everything, he had to take a job feeding pigs in order to survive. To Jews of that time listening to this story, one could fall no further. One day, the man remembered that even the slaves in his father's house had it better than him, so he went home, planning to confess his sins and ask to be a slave. Quote, "I am no longer worthy to be called your son," and, quote, according to Luke 1519, was what he planned to say, but when his dad saw him coming, he ran out of the house and embraced his son. He gave the boy the best set of clothes he had and threw a big party. This young man was right, he was not worthy to be called son. But Jesus said, "God is like that father who cares nothing for the sins of the son and rejoices at the return of the son who, quote, was dead but is now alive," end, quote, Luke 1532. Beyond simply forgiving people and giving them a new start, Jesus promises his followers that they will be restored to the original glory that God intended. The shame and guilt inherited from Adam and Eve that damaged the image of God in people will be swept away. Humanity will reflect the glory of the risen Christ. The future of the redeemed is seen in the prayer Paul prayed for the Colossian Christians that they would be, quote, "strengthened with all power according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light." He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, Colossians 1-11-14. Conclusion In many world views, the storms of life must be endured alone without a spiritual presence or a destiny beyond this life. This can intensify the feelings of loneliness, meaninglessness, depression, guilt and shame. But the Christian worldview offers a solution to all of these through a relationship with God through his son and by his spirit. Jesus is God with humanity, hearing and responding to people's prayers, knowing their grief and dreams. Jesus is the Savior of the world, the one who people can worship, and the one who hears their prayers. Jesus is the author of life, the Creator incarnate. Holding a Christian worldview means believing that God became human, suffered, died for the forgiveness of sins for the people of this world, and was resurrected to show their future and prove his authority. Through faith in him, people have clear promises and an eternal destiny. Having a Christian worldview means thinking about the world in a way that Christ would. Paul explained how a person could have Christ's wisdom and begin living a life founded on him, in Philippians 2-11. This passage shows how he lived and how people today can live like him. Quote. So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father, Philippians chapter 2 verses 1 through 11. Jesus shows people how to live. He endured the final storm of death and showed that his wisdom is adequate for everyone in his resurrection. Everyone is offered his destiny through faith. As Jesus humbly trusted his Father and therefore was exalted, everyone today can trust Christ and know that in bowing before him, each one will be lifted up and have the image of God restored within him or her. A worldview should be conformed to the wisdom of Jesus to ensure that the foundation will be as strong and enduring as he is. This chapter, along with previous chapters, addresses some of the obstacles that may prevent people from placing faith in Christ and forming a worldview built on the wisdom he offers. The arguments show that these obstacles are not as insurmountable as they may seem to some. In fact, Jesus Christ surmounce them all in an amazing way. The chapters that follow discuss how one can live practically by the wisdom and the worldview that Jesus offers. Humanity can live with great hope because God's restoration of his creation began with the resurrection of Jesus and is continuing today. GCU's One Foundation supports the university's commitment to biblical Christianity, including doctrine and practices deeply rooted in the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For more information about GCU, visit gcu.edu. Additional chapters of this audiobook, chapter notes and other resources related to the Christian worldview are available at TheologyCommons.org.