David Coats

By Dr. David Coats

I have tried to give you a brief overview of psychological labels in parts 1 & 2 of this study as well as a biblical alternative to someone’s simply describing behavior by a label. Unfortunately, the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) typically used by the world at large contains descriptions and labels that come with some definite problems. I will give you four problems to help you to begin to understand some of the roadblocks, and then I will give you the biblical analysis. I will let you draw your conclusions from there:

1. People tend to “become” their label. In other words, this label is their identity. They say they are bipolar. They look at their life and reality as bipolar from that point on. When they behave a certain way, act a certain way, or respond a certain way, their label is to blame (“It was because I’m bipolar”). This process is called blame-shifting. They are not willing to take responsibility for their actions or responses. They believe these problems are out of their control. The Bible says that all actions, thoughts, and behaviors come out of the heart (Matthew 15:18-19), not out of their psychological label/problem.
2. People believe strongly in their label, and the “illness” they suffer from is the path they must follow for the rest of their lives, so they think. Now I realize that within the diagnostic system of labels that there are physical struggles, learning disabilities, and abnormalities that will be a challenge to people. And for some, these differences will be their reality for life. But to say that a child who is labeled ADHD will be ADHD for life is to squelch hope. Labeling brings a darkness and discouragement that must be accepted as their reality, ignoring the truth and hope through Christ.
3. People believe their label is the reason they cannot do things that God calls them to do or avoid behaviors God calls them to stop. So their label becomes an excuse for not following Christ in obedience. “I have an anxiety disorder, so I must avoid the pressure of being around church family.” This problem is an outflow of #1. But I want to point out that my concern here is more than just shifting the blame. My concern is that people can so easily ignore what God says every person must do. Apparently, the reason that their behavior is not sin, in their case, is that they cannot help it. “I could not help it. I yelled at him. I was out of control. But I could not stop. My bipolar mood was at its peak.” Or a mother says to you, “You will have to excuse Billy. He might hit and yell and scream at you. It is not his fault. He is struggling with his Oppositional Defiant Disorder.” Because the labels are readily available to these folks, are these behaviors then no longer wrong before God?
4. The label is usually attached to the assumption that the person has some kind of “chemical imbalance.” The world relates this imbalance to mental illness. Now I will give you a VERY brief crash course here in this terminology. When friends say chemical imbalance, it is not the same as when your doctor says you have an imbalance in your blood sugar count or your adrenal glands or your pituitary gland.
   1. When a doctor tells you that you have low blood sugar, it is because chemicals of the blood and other fluids in the system are regulated by many automatic signals within the body that coordinate with each other.  Sugar, salt, potassium, and water, for example, are regulated by hormones through unique systems God placed within our body. But they get out of sync. Doctors can tell almost immediately by taking measurements in your blood and other body fluids what is out of sync. They KNOW what numbers should show as they read your checkup report through clinical analysis. This process is based on empirical data.
   2. Not so with mental illness that is supposedly connected to a chemical imbalance in the brain. Here we are talking about microscopic chemicals called neurotransmitters. They do exist. And the only way that we can look at them presently is postmortem. Why do people think that they are out of balance? The theory is that if we take medications that target these chemicals in the brain and we “feel better,” then it must mean the neurotransmitters are out of balance. This is dangerous theory. And remember, we are talking about drugs designed specifically to target brain function. How they work is not clear. Can physicians do a blood test or urine test to see how the chemicals in your brain are out of sync? No. They are guessing. Guessing chemical imbalance does not confirm chemical imbalance.

Conclusion: I realize I have covered this ground with the hope that you will at least put a question mark by some of these issues. Medical discoveries and technology are amazing, but limited. And more importantly, although we all struggle at times to follow our Lord and obey His commands, we cannot put anything (such as psychological labeling) in between us and truth. God’s expectations, based on His grace and Spirit within, are that we will obey whether we have a label or infirmity or not. May God help us to pursue His cause and follow Him under the hope given by His new mercies that appear daily.

By Dr. David Coats

In my first post (Understanding and Responding to Psychological Labels [Part 1]) I tried to give a brief, historical overview of the DSMs (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) categories so that we would understand why and how psychological labels came to be a “normal” part of our society.

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Theoretical Background. What we have to remember about this historical process of categorization is the grounding in the developing psychologies of the day. Summarily, the psychoanalysis of Freud, Adler, and other contemporaries; the humanistic approach of Rogers, Maslow, and the “Third Force” group; and finally the behaviorism of Pavlov, Skinner, and other contemporaries are behind the underlying process of describing people’s problems and people’s behaviors with labels. And why should this group be of concern to us? Mainly, the psychologists listed above do not have a biblical view of people’s origins or a medical explanation of people’s behaviors. The diagnoses come from the symptoms that people describe to the psychiatrists.

It makes sense that scientists, who study animals in labs to determine how those animals respond to drugs and the results of the drugs, make determinations regarding humans since they believe man is simply another animal on this earth. But if you believe God created mankind and womankind in His “image” or likeness so that humans could know, worship, and serve God, then this biblical worldview changes everything when it comes to assessing human’s behaviors and problems. The biblical explanation of man and woman as physical and spiritual beings with the inner soul driven by spiritual desires completely transforms our approach to helping people. Yes, I realize this is a simplistic beginning, but we must start here if we are to help people biblically. What you should ask yourself is this: What basis do these professional psychologists have in telling us what is normal or abnormal? What moral or theological compass drives their assessment? Let’s take an honest look:

Motives. I will make a comment here about two groups that are involved with the psychological labels. The first group is those who are the therapists (many coming from a Darwinian philosophical mooring) trying to treat people with the labels. I believe these people, for the most part, are compassionate and interested in helping others because people’s problems are too difficult to undertake just for the sake of money. The second group is represented by all those who are involved in research and in the development of the drug industry related to the addressing of the behaviors behind the labels. Suffice it to say that I do not trust the motives of the latter. And yes, we are talking BIG money (One in five Americans as of 2010 take psychiatric medications Medscape.com.)

Biblical labels and descriptions–a theological compass. I would like to suggest an analytical look at the behaviors listed for each label; then as you unpack what is going on in someone’s heart and soul, try to find biblical ways of describing the behaviors instead of describing those behaviors with psychological labels. Basically, the label becomes their identity rather than hope in Christ’s sufficiency.

 Let’s look at a few examples of biblical terminology vs. labeling: (I have modified the following descriptive terms from Garrett Higbee of Biblical Soul Care, Harvest Bible Chapel.)

Impulsive (descriptive, biblical terminology #1): impatient, lacks self-control (easily distracted), foolish and immature (childish traits), irresponsible, discontent, driven by temporal desires or pleasures and feelings, lacking eternal or long-term perspectives (the Bible addresses all of these traits.)

Instead of biblical terminology, the psychological labeling takes place:

• ADHD [careless, does not finish tasks, does not work at things he or she does not like, struggles in tasks of organization, distracted]
• Manic part of Bipolar [inflated esteem of self, distracted, insomnia, talkative]
• OCD [compulsive behaviors: must do these things to feel better]
• Kleptomania [recurrent desire to steal objects with no motivation other than the pleasure and feeling resulting from the act]
• Pyromania [recurrent desire to deliberately start fires; a fascination with fire and enjoying the thrill of setting fires]
• Alcoholic [pattern of abuse of alcohol]
• Eating disorder [binge-eating and purging]

Disruptive/Destructive (descriptive, biblical terminology #2): lying, angry, yelling, swearing, bitter, careless, foolish, immature, hurtful, destructive to things and people, will not listen or obey, annoys others, unaware of others, repetitious behaviors in things they enjoy (the Bible addresses all of these traits.)

Instead of biblical terminology, the psychological labeling takes place:

• Conduct disorder [serious misbehavior, aggressive behavior against people, animals, property, threatens, deceitful, disobedient or dishonest]
• Oppositional defiant disorder [angry, argues, defies authority, blames others, resentful]
• ADHD [lacks concern for others, won’t sit still during instruction, talks out without permission]
• Autistic disorder [impairment in development and understanding of self and others]
• Tic disorder [vocal or motor tics; sudden or recurrent]

Depressive (descriptive, biblical terminology #3): emotion-driven rather than truth-driven, feelings-centered, covetous, discontent, ungrateful, unforgiving, self-love, self-centered, self-pity, complacency, slothful/lazy, procrastination (a form of foolish, temporal behavior), financially foolish, temporal values unfulfilled, comparing self to others. Possible physical changes with which the individual allows these physical changes to dominate life patterns and choices (the Bible addresses all of these traits.)

Instead of biblical terminology, the psychological labeling takes place:

• Depression [depressed mood most of the day, lack interest in life, lack pleasure or drive in life, fatigue or loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness, “dark cloud” that envelopes life, excessive sleep and lack of desire to get up]
• Depressive side of Bipolar [similar to above]

Apprehensive (descriptive, biblical terminology #4): anxious, fearful, self-reliant, covetous, fear of _____. Trust in _____ (instead of God). Failures in the past. Hurt and sin against them in the past. Unresolved relationships. Wrong goals and values. Potential fear of exposure of hypocrisy. Unable to live up to expectation of others or self, thus approval issues. Cannot control life, people, and events. Lacking trust in God in the immediate situation. Poor view of God in how they function. Unbiblical lifestyle exposed. Unwilling to clear conscience with God or man. Goals of security and safety are predominant (the Bible addresses all of these traits.)

Instead of biblical terminology, the psychological labeling takes place:

• Obsessive part of OCD [persistent thoughts that are distressing, often related to fears about things that have taken place or that they think might take place]
• Anxiety disorders or attacks [physical symptoms related to anxiety, agoraphobia and the behaviors of avoidance or control]
• PTSD [not just for military but for anyone who has gone through a traumatic event]

The circular reasoning (logical fallacy) involved in psychological labeling occurs like this:

Doctor: “What is your problem?”

Patient: “I am severely anxious out in public.”

Doctor: “So you are agoraphobic.”

Patient’s Mother: “What does that mean?”

Doctor: “It means this patient is severely anxious in public.”

Biblical reasoning arrives at a different conclusion like this:

Counselor: “What is your problem?”

Counselee: “I am severely anxious out in public.”

Counselor: “Tell me more about why, when, and how, your anxiety began. I believe the Bible talks about anxiety regardless of where and when it happens.”

Counselee: “Where is my hope of change?”

Counselor: “God gives us specific answers and great hope in Christ, who knows our anxieties and fears because He knows us inside and out.”

Obviously, this is an oversimplification of what actually differentiates the circular reasoning of labeling from biblical counseling.  But we hope you get the point.

By Dr. David Coats

I would like to begin in part 1 to speak to the issue of psychological labels in brief. But perhaps, even if I do not cover all of the possible ground related to the common psychological labels of our day, I hope to be of some initial help to you. For example, would you question someone who said, “I am bi-polar”? Or would you have a biblical question ready?

It does not take much observation to recognize that our culture has readily accepted the labels of psychology as the norm for understanding or explaining people’s problems. Friends and neighbors will especially accept the labels for those problems or behaviors that fall into what our culture calls the realm of the psychological or problems that are viewed as forms of mental illness.

Our culture. Let’s consider some movies that illustrate the acceptance of the labels: A Beautiful Mind, the story of John Nash and his schizophrenia or Touched By Fire, the story of a woman, played by Katie Holmes, who struggles with bipolar disorder. Another popular movie is Shutter Island featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, a story line dealing with a form of insanity. You can read fictional books that use semi-reality to share what people experience as they live out the abnormal behaviors and psychological struggles found in our culture and at the heart of their narrative.

How did we come to label people or accept these labels as helpful? And are the labels helpful? Is the current psychological system of slotting people’s behaviors and life problems within these categories helping them to understand themselves? And on what basis does the psychiatric community have claim to such authority to label people as normal and abnormal? The psychiatric community says someone has ADHD, Schizophrenia, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and the list goes on. Why?

History. Briefly, let me share the process whereby this system of categories became so prevalent and accepted. In 1952, the first DSM system was available to the public, or at least to the psychiatric community. DSM-I (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) was a theoretical approach to understanding and to categorizing these abnormal behaviors. In 1968, DSM-II came out, attempting to correlate with the international community in its handling and in its classification of psychological “diseases.” In 1980, DSM-III was unveiled with the hope that its revision had eliminated a dependence on psychological theories which had been evident in the earlier descriptions and basis for categorizing people. It was at this point that homosexuality was officially withdrawn as a deviant behavior or as a psychological disorder. It was removed from the DSM not so much by the study of psychological theory but because of political and cultural pressure to do so. (This seems to demonstrate the subjective and political-cultural nature of the DSM). The global assessment within the disorders showed up at this time (DSM-III) in order to describe how serious or how severe a case someone had regarding their particular label. In 1994, when DSM-IV came out, the system had become entrenched and accepted by the scientific community, thus our culture followed as well. However, you need to understand that the psychiatric community is not a unified group in its assessment of this document (I don’t have space and time here to explore this disagreement amongst these professionals. You can look it up yourself.) Finally, in 2015, the DSM-5 came out amidst mixed reviews. But the system, as far as we can tell, is here to stay, regardless of its veracity or standard. Presently, the DSM-5 is people’s psychological encyclopedia. Should it be?

What should we think about this developing system of describing people by their behaviors? Here is what one professor of psychology in a state university said about the problems with the DSM system:

1. The quality of research base is questionable. The question relates to methods, comparisons, and relevance.
2. The poverty of research base has not been addressed. Those who have reviewed the previous DSM listings have admitted insufficient evidence in several areas.
3. Empirical evidence is not used in many decisions. Loosely connected concepts and at times “speculations” have been accepted as valid.
4. The conclusions are not necessarily relevant to the evidence or only loosely connected to the studies at hand. (Jeffrey Poland, professor of psychology, University of NE, Lincoln)

He believes then that the validity of the categories discussed is potentially in question.

My next post will try to assess what some of the underlying motives and theories are for this system of categorizing people. I want to help us as Bible-believing people to come to the table with some historical and theological perspective. I will also suggest some alternative ways of assessing what is going on in the behaviors we read about and how we may experience them in our families.

As a footnote, if you would like to know how someone is categorized as ADHD, OCD, Schizophrenic, Bipolar, and any of many other labels, I suggest you go to www.MayoClinic.org on the web. This organization, rather than many other self-proclaimed authoritative sites on the web, is at least medical in nature and will give you the base line for such labels. You will find it interesting.  You can also go to http://behavenet.com/apa-diagnostic-classification.  Look for words like believe, suppose, theorize, may, think that. These words show their willingness to say that these labels and behaviors are not empirically known at this time.

One other thought for you. Part of my observation is that the DSM places behaviors together that should not be listed in similar categories. Within the Developmental Disorders (those diagnosed in infancy, childhood, or adolescence) are these: Mental Retardation, Learning Disorders, Motor Skill Disorders, Communication Disorders like Stuttering, ADHD, Conduct Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Tic Disorders, Separation Anxiety Disorder to list some of them. Can you see the problem of lumping all of these together? The biggest problem with labeling is that it ignores what is going on in the heart while focusing only on the behavior that the label is based on.

Noticeably in Psalm 94, the ungodly people have a poor view of God. Observe the evidence in verses 3-11 how the wicked are unconcerned about what God sees and what God knows:

• v. 4 “All the evildoers boast in arrogant words.”
• v. 5 “They crush people of God.”
• v. 6 “They murder the fatherless.”
• v. 7 “They say the Lord does not see.”

The psalmist concludes in verse 8, “O fools, when will you be wise?” In verse 18, the psalmist shares, “My foot slips, but your steadfast love holds me up.”  As a result, we can clearly see that there should be a difference between the ungodly and the psalmist who has a genuine walk with God.

I want to continue the discussion on the topic of View of God, but I want to apply it to a specific arena of sin: porn. When we help people (both men and women struggle in this arena) who have an addiction to porn or who are headed down this pathway, it is necessary to pry open the doorway marked View of God in their hearts. What do we find inside the room? Will those people recognize the steadfast love of God, or will they doubt His love and give into the porn?

If I can continue the imagery for a moment, let’s suggest that inside the door is a room with sayings on the wall: “God is good”–one saying on the wall. “God is sufficient,” says another. “God is everywhere.” And in the back corner is one which says, “God knows everything.” Great. That is what the walls of our mind suggest to us. And we would say that we believe those things. But our true or functional view of God is quite different if we are involved with pornography. “God is holy” may just be a nice, quaint saying if we don’t believe it has relevance to our struggle with our lust for more images of people in immoral, internet websites. We don’t seem to really think a holy God will pay much attention to us. We can hide in an office, bedroom, or café, fooled into thinking that God does not see.

Anyone who has been a Christian for a while has a sense of who God is and what He is like. But those attributes, for some folks, may not do much for daily life. In fact, our daily choices and sins may actually suggest the opposite. We are a functional atheist or at best a functional deist (God is great enough to create the world but he has left it to go its own course and left “me” to pick and choose my poison).

What are the functional problems for a person who struggles with porn?

I don’t really believe God sees me. Sins that involve hiding behind the door of my house, my bedroom, or some other seemingly anonymous place, is simply giving me the sense of being hidden. I feel if neighbors do not see and know, then God does not either. This God I believe in, seems removed, distant, un-involved in my life.

I don’t really believe God loves me. Since the Bible says that God corrects those he loves (Heb. 12:6-8), then if I think God sees me and loves me, then I know he will correct me and chasten me when I am involved in my sin of the flesh. This un-involved God seems not to care about my struggle or my problems because I’m getting away with my sin for a time.

I don’t really believe God is sufficient. He supposedly will give me what I need. and He will satisfy my soul. But not so is the soul of the porn-seeker. He feels he must have another look. He cannot help but spend some time online today on certain sites. Why? His soul longs for something other than a God who seems outdated or far away.

I doubt God’s faithfulness. Life has gone okay in the past, but it seems to be falling apart right now. My debt, my work schedule, my family problems, and things like my truck and the dryer that broke down at the same time all suggest that God is out-to-lunch right now. He is letting things go. He is not faithful. The work of “carrying the support of the universe” is too much for God to pay attention to me. This thinking is of course a view from a first-world country where we are accustomed to life going smoothly because of the abundance of our possessions. God is supposed to keep a smooth life on track. Otherwise, He is not faithful, so I find refuge (another of God’s characteristics that I’m neglecting to acknowledge) in my online porn addiction to make me feel better because my ducks were not in a row.

We could perhaps go through most of the list of God’s attributes and find some connections to our sin and its hold on us. We play the Christian game, but we do not get honest about our sin because we feel like this is the way life will be; therefore, we might as well just keep plodding and sinning. After all, “God does not seem to care.” And if he tries to get our attention, in love, we just ignore that love and grasp onto our twisted view of God. Our view of God is just plain messed up.

The solution? These characteristics of God–His omnipresence, His love, His sufficiency, His faithfulness–must be real for me. I must believe them to be true. My heart must be guarded with these living truths. Bottom line–this is the process that I include in Soul Purity http://www.coatscounsel.net/soul-purity/, an 8-week study, that walks alongside someone who struggles with sexual addiction.  It’s not the putting off of the sin which certainly must happen.  It’s the putting on of my very real God.

By Drs. Dave and Judi Coats 

a.      All authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God (Romans 13).

b.      Authorities are God’s servants, sent for our good (Romans 13).

c.       We must submit to authorities to keep a clear conscience (Romans 13). 

d.      Give respect and honor to those who are in authority (Romans 13).

e.      And remember, in the time of Roman rule, the authorities were ruthless, underhanded, barbaric, and severe. Yet believers were admonished to respect and to honor and  to submit.

f.        We are “already, but not yet” under Kingdom rule in which Christ will rule and reign perfectly.  Anything else will definitely be flawed severely. 

g.      In God’s sovereignty, we will be under the authority of  some new president after the next inauguration.  We need to pray for them, and we need to respect them.

h.     Many Christians, respectable leaders, full of integrity, do walk the halls of Congress; we need to pray for them for wisdom as they work with authorities over them.

i.        All the severely illogical, poorly written, emotionally-charged comments and articles on Facebook do not substitute for doing your own research regarding the candidates. 

j.        Drive or walk to the polls; vote, armed with your own research; and trust God that He is in control; and be at peace with the outcome.

k.      Since righteousness exalts a nation, it absolutely must begin in our local churches as we fill our communities with salt and light.

l.        Leaders of government are “sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong” (Romans 13); pray that the candidate who wins will uphold this responsibility before God.

 

 

A short story can be a very powerful way to communicate big ideas. The writer must manage the material in such a way as to draw clear images for us quickly.

God tells us a powerful short story about Jonah. We are brought into his life at a critical point in order to communicate to us something about God that we must grasp as part of the overall gospel narrative (man’s brokenness and God’s redeeming grace). In fact, the gospel of Jonah (I know, you would not normally have called it that) is an amazing look right into the heart of man and God at the same time.

As well, God is in the process of counseling the prophet Jonah. Yes, in a certain way, we get to sit in on a counseling session between God and Jonah. Although the session or sessions come to an end quickly for us, we still get insight into God’s heart and Jonah’s heart. And that is the core of biblical counseling, bringing man and God together in such a way that man is faced with truth about God and truth about his own heart. The result depends on man’s response to what he sees and hears about God and what God wants of man.

In Jonah’s case, God wants to remind Jonah, and all of us, of His compassion–major theme number one. And Jonah knows this. When God asks Jonah to tell the people of Nineveh to repent, Jonah even admits that the reason he disobeys God is that He knows exactly what God will do if the people of Nineveh turn in repentance from their sins to God. God will remove the judgment he planned to carry out against the people of Nineveh which Jonah does not want to happen. So in effect, the good news for Jonah is that God is still compassionate and longsuffering because He does not leave Jonah in the belly of the large fish with his head wrapped in seaweed. He brings Jonah up again to dry land. But Jonah does not appreciate the care of God for Jonah. He especially does not appreciate God’s care for anyone other than himself and his own plans.

Also, God uses the story to communicate a second major theme to us and that is the sovereignty of God. He is in control. Jonah cannot get away from God’s power and control over the forces of nature which will be used against Jonah in his own rebellion against an all-powerful God. Jonah looks silly, foolish, childish in his selfish rants about God’s compassion and care for him and for the people of the city. God has compassion when Jonah pouts outside the city of Nineveh, and He grows a plant to shade Jonah; but then God’s sovereignty removes the plant. And Jonah believes that he is justified in his rant against God and the powers of nature at God’s disposal.

This is where the short story of Jonah ends abruptly. God chastises and corrects Jonah by using an object lesson to show Jonah his own sin–Jonah cares for shade and is mad when a plant dies and removes his shade, yet he does not care for the lives of a city–Nineveh. Unfortunately, we see no evidence of Jonah’s repentance. He does not appreciate a compassionate and sovereign God (the two major themes of this short story) and he does not turn from his selfish worldview while the city of Nineveh turns in mass from their sin to a holy and righteous God. Perhaps part of Jonah’s struggle is that he has had so little response from his own people to God’s call for repentance and true worship while here in the pagan city of Nineveh the people turn to God and worship Him.

Let’s begin by taking a look at the Word of God to remind ourselves of the destructive nature of anger.

What examples do we see in scripture that reveal the effects of anger on people and on their relationships?

• Cain killed Abel out of anger.
• Gen. 27 (The anger of Esau towards Jacob for stealing the birthright; ready to kill his brother)
• Jacob’s sons, in their anger, destroy a whole town (Gen. 34), including all the dads and sons because of what was done to Jacob’s daughter. In Gen. 49:6, we see more of Jacob’s sons’ anger-driven acts.
• Num. 22 reveals how Balaam hits his donkey out of anger when, in reality, the donkey saved his life.
• Moses’s anger, quick words, and hitting a rock kept him out of the Promised Land (Num. 20:7-13).
• David’s son Absalom was angry about the rape of Tamar, but he internalized the anger; so it turned to a deadly drive for vengeance (II Sam. 13).
• Jonah was upset, angry at God for being merciful towards Nineveh and for destroying the gourd. He defended his anger: “I was right to be angry.”
• King Saul’s anger at his son Jonathan turned into destructive, disgraceful, attacking words and then deadly force as he threw a javelin at Jonathan (1 Sam. 20:30).
• Young Elihu lets his anger move him to speak to Job and his three friends, thinking he must have a better answer to give Job and better counsel than the elder men (Job 32).

Consider some thoughts from Proverbs. These verses are a recognition of the tendencies of men and women when they take a certain path. As a result, the writer has some thoughts about anger for us (ESV).

• 14:29 Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.
• 15:1  A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
• 15:18  A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.
• 16:32  He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.
• 19:11  Good sense makes one slow to anger.
• 22:24 Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man.
• 27:4  Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?
• 29:22  A man of wrath stirs up strife, and one given to anger causes much transgression.

My goal in this post is not to do an extensive workup on the topic of anger. So what is my goal today? I just want us to be reminded that as we battle the flesh, the devil, the world, and all that is around us, it is easy to slip into a worldly way of responding. We get tired of being the “good person” at work or in our family. We feel like people walk over us and it is time to stand up for self. Therein lies the problem with trying to be godly without God’s help. You cannot do this on your own. I do not care what kind of personality you may have; you will get angry. It just requires the right situation. And the anger may be overt or covert. The only way you can avoid being sinfully angry and tearing apart something you have built up that is good is to daily have the Spirit of God (He is opposite to the walk in the flesh, Galatians 5) as the one who rules you. If you do walk in step with the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit, rather than the works of the flesh, will be evident in your life.

Here are a few resources you may consider:

Journal of Biblical Counseling, Fall 1995 – Winter 1996  (3-part series on anger by David Powlison).

The Heart of Anger, Lou Priolo.

Respectable Sins, Jerry Bridges (ch. 15).

Temptation is a regular part of our daily lives. Sometimes temptation seems to be experienced minimally. Other days temptation may hit us like a tsunami that feels like it will rip us apart. Either way, whether we are being bombarded or whether we barely feel the test, the reality is we must know how to face temptation.

What is temptation? Temptation is a test of our inner man. Temptation is described in James 1:14 as the process of being lured or enticed; the focus of that enticement is our heart’s desire. I find that description fascinating. We feel like temptation is too much to handle at times. It is just too strong. I know what it is like to experience major temptation and fail. And even though I am a man, my greatest temptations and battles have not been for the purity of my soul although that was, for a period of time, the focal point of my testing and failure of desire. Out of that battle, I wrote and have used the material in Soul Purity, a workbook for meditations on God rather than on the longings for things of the flesh that took me down a road away from what God designed me for.

But that has not been my greatest battlefield. The greatest struggles for me have been in the area of man-pleasing. The worship of people. The desire for their approval was something that drove me for years. And it was not till I began to see how much it was entangled in my work and service for God that I saw how hard it would be to resist its allure. And unfortunately, it is much easier to seem spiritual and to be doing a work for God while serving people and their approval than it is to battle the flesh and its sensual tendencies. The temptation for pleasing others has been great. Its drive is insidious and unrelenting.

When I consider the truth of what James shares in chapter one, I realize that the power of the temptation is not because of the “powerful element” that is drawing me away towards sin. The power of the temptation is fueled by the desire within my own heart. I am the product of my own desires. I want “that” badly. I interact with one particular person, yet I have no temptation to please him versus God. In contrast, I may encounter another person; yet by virtue of my relationship with him, I dread his disapproval and long for his smile and good words. Only as I recognize the idolatry of my desires can I begin to fight this temptation battle. Too often I can downsize and ignore the weight of my idolatry towards some people. I can rationalize what I am thinking, desiring, and doing. You see how my “fear of man” or “desire for their approval” becomes such fuel for the fire of my temptation. I provide the fuel. Or, I can dowse it. I can empty it of its power and influence on me. I must dethrone these desires. They must be torn down.

So now the next time I encounter this person or that situation in which I might desire those approvals and fear those disapprovals, I must have something else in my heart. I must have a desire only for God’s approval and love. My soul must be consumed by Him and not by others. When I am employed, I work for God while being paid by my employer. When I am preaching, I speak before God while the congregation listens in. In my relationship with my family, I serve them as unto God. I must not give this temptation to serve, worship, and please men any fuel for the flame of temptation to burn in my soul.

How to Face Temptation:

1. Recognize the battle for your soul (I Peter 2:11) “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.” Generations have had to wage the war against the passions of the flesh. What are your heart longings that are of this world rather than the next?
2. Be a learner. Listen to people who recognize the fuel for temptation in your life, and take note of their counsel (Proverbs 9:9-10).
3. Be humble, willing to change (I Corinthians 10:12).
4. Don’t quit. Don’t say temptation is too hard. God is faithful. He knows you. He believes you can survive this test. Remember that many others have faced similar tests and have by God’s grace said no to their flesh and yes to godliness (I Corinthians 10:13) (Galatians 6:9).
5. Remind yourself of the good news in the Gospel. Christ died and rose again to conquer sin and its power. If you are a child of God, you no longer need to fear a temptation. Although the desires are within, you can die to them and be alive to Christ. Believe it to be true (Romans 6:5-19).

So what? The problem is not from the outside; the problem is from within. You may blame the world and the TV and other media. Or you blame your roommate, your mate, your job situation. They are OUTSIDE of you. But when what they say and do becomes your way of thinking and living, then your heart is full of worldly desires of the flesh. Your heart must be FULL of godly desires in the Spirit.  You have to meditate on God, His character, allowing His Spirit to change your heart to be like His.  Then temptation will lose its grip and power on you.