Where then does all this leave us? Once again we are thrown back on the Lord Himself, who alone can give wisdom in any given occasion. Just as we sometimes need a doctor for physical illnesses, so we may need a psychiatrist for a mental illness, particularly if medication is needed. We choose a doctor for our physical needs carefully, and we should be even more careful in choosing a psychiatrist. How helpful it is if one can be found who knows the Lord and thus is prepared to treat the patient in every way! But even the best of psychiatrists cannot take the place of a truehearted pastor.
It is striking that Carl Jung would recognize that things such as faith, hope and love were necessary for the healing of persons and that he further recognized that no system of human thinking could impart these. Only in knowing the Lord Jesus as Saviour and in walking with Him can they be a reality in our lives. We must also bear in mind that while others may be helpful in pointing someone in the right direction and perhaps in giving him insight into the nature of the difficulty, ultimately only the individual himself can really deal with his spiritual need in the Lord’s presence.
Now let us consider an allied but quite different discipline, that of psychology.
Psychology
Once again we approach the subject with some hesitation because of the strong opinions held by many believers on the subject. Books like The Seduction of Christianity by Dave Hunt and T. A. McMahon and Psychoheresy by Martin and Deidre Bobgan have been unsparing in their condemnation of psychology as it is practiced today and have warned believers against it in the strongest possible terms. Having read both of these books and others like them, I have to say that these warnings are needed, for some of what they say is true. No doubt, much of their criticism stems from the fact that modern psychology has tended to adopt a humanistic, new age view of man and his behavior and has set aside the Word of God as the only true authority on the moral and spiritual issues that are being addressed. Having said this, it is also my considered opinion that some of this criticism, particularly the viewpoint of the Bobgans in Psychoheresy, is unbalanced and misleading. In seeking to draw attention to a serious tendency toward wrong thinking among believers, they have themselves fallen into error and distorted thinking. In their efforts to expose the flawed thinking behind much of modern psychology, they have assembled an array of negative quotations and opinions that cannot always be supported by Scripture. In their assertion that Christ is the ultimate answer to the problems of life, they are right. In their attempt to reduce most of these problems to willful sin, I believe they have gone too far. When they deny the theory that most of human behavior is the result of what we are thinking unconsciously, they are right. When they deny that there are such things as unconscious thoughts and motives, they are wrong, for the Word of God clearly recognizes that there may be unconscious thoughts and motives that govern my behavior. Elihu could advise Job to pray, “That which I see not teach Thou me” (Job 34:32). Recognizing the possibility of sin working unconsciously in him, David could say to the Lord, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts” (Psalm 139:23). In another place he could say, “Cleanse Thou me from secret faults” (Psalm 19:12). Again, when they suggest that the believer is called to be occupied with Christ instead of the hurts he has experienced in the past, they are right. When they say that past emotional wounds really have no bearing on our present behavior, they are wrong. In seeking to expose one error, they themselves have fallen into error on the opposite side. Sad to say, man is prone to do this in many areas.
All of this then begs the question, “Is psychology always, all wrong?” By definition psychology is the study of human behavior. It includes such things as I. Q. testing, the evaluation of various personality types, the reactions of individuals to various forces in their environment, and the various ways by which behavior can be modified. The believer can readily see that psychology cannot be viewed as a science in the same way as, for example, the study of chemistry, for it involves a spiritual dimension as well as a natural one. Here again is an area where Scripture must be the final authority. In Scripture God explains the nature of man and his behavior, while in psychology man observes patterns, guesses, and perhaps learns something in a limited way. However, psychology will never get to the whole truth of the matter, for that requires divine revelation. In Scripture God states the relationships He has established and the moral behavior that man is required to have in them; in psychology man tries to explain the behavior without a given basis of morality. In Scripture God reveals what will make a man happy, and why; in psychology man seeks to discover what will make a man happy, and fails. Scripture reveals that the root cause of most of man’s behavioral problems is sin and its consequences; psychology, for the most part, does not have the word “sin” in its vocabulary.
On the other hand, it is sometimes helpful to understand why an individual reacts in a certain way, even from a natural point of view. For example, suppose a teenage girl runs away from home. Many factors can be involved, and we want to make it clear that we are in no way justifying her running away. There may be more than one reason why she chooses to leave home, but we know that in many cases it is because her mother has abdicated her proper role as caregiver and homemaker, thus forcing the girl to undertake a responsibility for which she is not ready and which she thus resents. Call it psychology or what you will, but an understanding of this mode of behavior is sometimes helpful in dealing with the situation and in helping those directly concerned. Many other examples could be given of behavior that is ultimately sinful yet has its roots in various forces that have acted on the individual. This in no way excuses the sin, but does perhaps provide a basis for helping to alleviate the factors that may have influenced the bad behavior.
We would suggest that it is not psychology itself that is so wrong, but rather the basis on which behavior is interpreted and dealt with. It is not wrong to recognize certain patterns of behavior that occur as the result of certain events and relationships that may have shaped the individual, but to suggest that man’s thoughts should replace Scripture as the remedy is a serious mistake. When secular humanism and new age thinking are the basis on which human behavior is approached, man becomes the focus of his own thinking, and God is left out. The result is, on the one hand, a moral irresponsibility and an excusing of sinful conduct, while, on the other hand, the treatment of such behavior tends to be based on self-help and the concept of self-worth. This so-called liberty of thought is not bound by any truth, knows no truth, and doubts all truth. Such an approach puts man at the center of things and is ultimately destructive, for the unbelief produced by confidence in man forces him back into superstition. Unhappily, modern psychology is so riddled with these ideas that it is difficult to separate the two.
Psychologist or Pastor?
In the final essence, if we have difficulties that are not serious enough to need medical help, then it is better to get on our knees with the Word of God open before us and to ask the Lord for His help in overcoming the difficulty. If further help is needed, perhaps a godly believer can be found who will be willing to listen and offer suggestions. Certainly a psychologist who was not a believer would have great difficulty in assessing, for example, a dysfunctional Christian family and giving proper advice. While he might make some good observations, his treatment would always be based on human wisdom rather than on the Word of God. Surely this is an area where we, as believers, have perhaps failed most seriously, for as we have already discussed, there is a great need of pastors in the true sense of the word. How great a need there is for those who can enter into the problems and difficulties of other believers, showing sympathy and compassion, yet being able to give a “word in season”!
In Ephesians 4:11 pastors and teachers are linked together, showing that the characteristics of both are desirable in the same person. One cannot be an effective teacher without a pastor’s heart, and one cannot be an effective pastor unless he knows how to give sound, scriptural counsel. Such individuals are very rare but greatly needed in the church today. If more believers with pastor’s hearts were available to do this often-thankless work, perhaps we would not see so many saints tending to seek out psychologists and other professionals.
Now let us consider one final aspect of mental illness in more detail.
Medication
We have already alluded to the use of medication in our discussion of the psychiatrist. We have noted that there has been a tremendous proliferation of psychotropic drugs during the past fifty years. We have seen that while we do not totally understand the mode of action of most psychotropic drugs, yet they have made a great difference to the treatment of mental illness. Kay Redfield Jamison, an author with bipolar disorder from whose book we have quoted previously, makes the following statement about herself and her condition:
“I have often asked myself whether, given the choice, I would choose to have manic-depressive illness. If lithium were not available to me or didn’t work for me, the answer would be a simple no — and it would be an answer laced with terror. But lithium does work for me, and therefore I suppose I can afford to pose the question.”
We have noted that before the development of psychotropic drugs, most seriously mentally ill patients spent their lives in institutions, virtually prisoners of their condition. The discovery of drugs that can help individuals control their behavior has been a major factor in enabling these people to live and function in the world at large.
We would hasten to add that drugs have not been the only factor in this change. Coupled with the development of psychotropic drugs, there has been a changing attitude toward mental illness. Such things as an appreciation of the regressive effects of institutions, an increased social consciousness, and the growth of community psychiatry have all helped to facilitate the integration of the mentally ill patient back into society. Nevertheless, it remains clear that without the use of psychotropic drugs many of these people would find it impossible to function outside an institution for any length of time.
What then should be the attitude of the believer to such medication? Some feel that since the Lord alone can heal and since God has said, “My grace is sufficient for thee,” we should leave off the use of medication, counting on the Lord and His grace alone. Others may feel that since they have been given medication, they can rely on it and do not need to be concerned about any possible spiritual dimension to their illness. May I suggest once again that both extremes are wrong?
In the Old Testament, when King Hezekiah was seriously ill, God sent the prophet Isaiah to him with the message, “I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord” (2 Kings 20:5). Clearly it was the Lord’s power that did the healing, yet at the same time Isaiah told Hezekiah, “Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered” (2 Kings 20:7). Again, in the New Testament, Paul could tell Timothy to “drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities” (1 Timothy 5:23).
In both of these cases it is definitely the Lord who is in control of our bodies and our illnesses, as evidenced in His words to Hezekiah through the prophet, “I will heal thee.” Likewise, in both cases the instruction was given to use the means at hand to treat the problem. So today we should trust the Lord and look to Him first with our mental as well as our physical illnesses, for ultimately only He can help us sort out the various causes and the reason He has allowed them. However, it is not wrong to use those remedies that God has enabled man to discover, as we see in the examples we have mentioned.
There are some dear believers who need medication to keep them “on an even keel” mentally, just as an epileptic needs medication to keep him from having seizures. If the epileptic neglects to take his medication or the diabetic stops his insulin, the results are serious and can be disastrous. So also those who find themselves in serious difficulties without a regular dose of a psychotropic drug that helps them function normally should accept this and be thankful that it is available to them. It is no more a sign of weakness or lack of spirituality to do so than it is for the one with heart failure to take his digitalis and diuretic (water pill).
On the other hand, wisdom is needed in this, for sometimes we as believers can use medication as a crutch, when what is really needed is for us to deal with the root of the problem. Surely every individual and mental illness is different and must be assessed and dealt with before the Lord, taking every aspect into consideration.