Is This Really the Best We have to Offer?
Someone sent me a DVD the other day about Christian men who had been addicted to pornography. The quality of the production was excellent. And the guys who were interviewed adeptly articulated the consequences of their former addiction: i.e., the guilt and shame they carried through life, the spiritual deadness they felt inside, the pain it caused loved ones, etc.
I’m sure porn addicts who saw this video could really relate to those men. It is always helpful to hear others express their struggles once they have come out the other end of the process. However, the value of empathy only goes so far.
I waited with anticipation for the men to convey how God set them free. Struggling people need concrete answers—a biblically-based roadmap to freedom. After awhile, they finally shared what helped them. As if on cue from the producer, they all talked about the importance of the one solution any secular therapist would offer: accountability.
<pull-quote>Accountability is NOT the solution to finding lasting freedom in Christ.<pull-quote><tweet-link>Tweet This<tweet-link>
Now it goes without saying that accountability has its place in the process of overcoming an addiction. During the period of time that the addict is fighting his way out of his bondage it is vital that he bring his struggles into the light. After all, Satan operates in the kingdom of darkness.
Nevertheless, accountability is NOT the solution to finding lasting freedom in Christ. Of course, we all understand that a secular therapist has little more to work with than behavioral modification gimmicks. As for leading a person to real inner transformation, the counselor is limited to forms of psychological quackery such as getting in touch with your inner child or holding a conversation with an imaginary person from your past.
It is amazing to me how seriously these people take themselves. The field of psychology’s propensity for presenting theories as if they are tried-and-true facts is reminiscent of other areas of secular study. For instance, in the 1940’s, Alfred Kinsey so bamboozled the American public with his scholarly presentation of his perverted ideas about human sexuality that he birthed the sexual revolution. To this day we are still suffering the consequences of his scam. And ever since the Scopes Monkey Trial of the 1930’s, evolutionists have successfully foisted upon a naïve public their skewed data regarding man’s origins.
So it should come as no surprise that the field of psychology would employ the same methods of presenting faulty theories with an outlandish amount of academic pretension.
<pull-quote>We understand that God has the power to transform a life from the inside out, so why are we still looking to the pathetic offerings of humanistic psychology for our solutions?<pull-quote><tweet-link>Tweet This<tweet-link>
One would certainly think that any Christian with a degree of spiritual discernment would fully understand that unbelievers are clueless about the Lord’s power to transform a person from the inside out. What do they know about His ability to flush the filth out of the heart of a sexual addict and leave innocence and purity in its wake? What understanding do they have of the power of God to change a hopeless drunk or drug addict into a sober-minded man? What unbeliever has the slightest comprehension of the way the Lord can transform a thief into a man of virtue, a liar into a lover of truth, a mocker into a serious-minded man or an arrogant braggart into a meek lamb?
We understand that God has the power to transform a life from the inside out, so why are we still looking to the pathetic offerings of humanistic psychology for our solutions? Why aren’t we seeing videos where men are talking about the miraculous way God has utterly changed their lives? Could it be that many of those who are working in this area of need in the Church don’t have a very clear understanding about the power of the Cross?
We have so much to offer those who are struggling. Scripture contains the answers. God’s presence provides the power. Calvary offers the needed grace. Why would we turn to the world for help?
