From a Biblical perspective, mental health is about connecting to Christ--believing and living in accordance with His truth. Why Truth? Truth transforms:
Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed [into Christ-like-ness by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
The Bible is a roadmap to guide our beliefs, commitments, and actions into the peaceful channels. Primarily, it teaches us to become Christ-like by understanding God and also ourselves. What should we understand about ourselves? We are broken, unworthy, and need our Lord to direct all our steps. A faulty roadmap will not serve us well. Neither will an improper understanding of God. If we believe that God will always heal us or always make us happy, we will quickly become disappointed with such a God.
Of what does our blessedness consist? Jesus began His sermon His Sermon on the Mount by teaching His radical, but Biblical message on blessedness:
Matthew 5:3–6 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
Blessedness is not a matter of being pain-free or morally perfect but of recognizing our need for the God who loves us: Ephesians 3:19…know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Secularism seeks the reduction of painful symptoms, usually by building self-esteem and self-confidence through positive affirmations and unconditional-positive-regard. However, the Bible’s solution is the opposite:
Luke 14:11 “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
However, a number of secularists would agree that the preoccupation with our performance and self-trust must be tempered. Carl Jung wrote: “Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”
However, can we truly awake from out unquenchable addiction of inflating ourselves? Psychologist Harold Sacheim wrote: “Through distortion, I may enhance my self-image, not because at heart I am insecure about my worth but because no matter how much I am convinced of my value, believing that I am better is pleasurable.
Self-flattering is a drug that we cannot do without even though it is strongly associated with normalcy as Psychologist Shelley Taylor had written: “Normal people exaggerate how competent and well liked they are. Depressed people do not. Normal people remember their past behavior with a rosy glow. Depressed people are more even-handed…On virtually every point on which normal people show enhanced self-regard, illusions of control, and unrealistic visions of the future, depressed people fail to show the same biases.” (Positive Illusions p.214)
Ironically, if the depressed recover, they become just as self-deluded as are the “normal.” Surprisingly, self-delusion is considered normal and even beneficial. Why then the popular optimism that accurate self-knowledge can be achieved? Eckhart Tolle, mystic and New Age Guru had written: “Wisdom comes with the ability to be still. Just look and just listen. No more is needed. Being still, looking, and listening activates the non-conceptual intelligence within you. Let stillness direct your words and actions.”
Mindfulness Meditation, although exalting self-knowledge, carefully avoids self-knowledge. How? It instructs its practitioners to not negatively judge anything they observe about themselves. In contrast, the Bible insists that nothing should remain hidden:
Proverbs 20:5-6 The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out. Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find?
We live in the darkness of self-delusion: Proverbs 16:2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit.
According to Jesus, we cannot tolerate the truth about ourselves: John 3:19–20 …”this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light lest his works should be exposed.
Are we capable of honestly facing ourselves? Not according to many philosophers:
Aldous Huxley: “If most of us remain ignorant of ourselves, it is because self-knowledge is painful, and we prefer the pleasures of illusion.” (The Perennial Philosophy, (1894-1963)
Benjamin Franklin: There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know oneself. (1706-1790)
Roman philosopher Seneca (4 BC-65): “Other men's sins are before our eyes; our own are behind our backs.”
Why do we run from self-knowledge? It is just overwhelmingly painful. The historian Arnold Toynbee wrote: “Unless we can bear self-mortification, we shall not be able to carry self-examination to the necessary painful lengths. Without humility there can be no illuminating self-knowledge.” (A Study of History)
The Bible provides several illuminating portraits of how the fear of self-exposure is so overwhelming: That we flee from the truth even to the point of self-destruction: Isaiah 2:20-22 In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver…21To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the crags of the rugged rocks, from the terror of the LORD and the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake the earth mightily.
Rev. 6:15-16 Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!” (Why terrified? No repentance?)
The evidence for the pervasiveness of self-deception is more than abundant. Here is a simple set of examples: “In one study of nearly a million high school seniors, 70 percent said they had “above average leadership skills, but only 2 percent felt their leadership skills were below average.” Another study found that 94 percent of college professors think they do above average work. And in another study, ‘when doctors diagnosed their patients as having pneumonia, predictions made with 88 percent confidence turned out to be right only 20 percent of the time.’” (Abcnews.go.com; “Self-images Often Erroneously Inflated,” 11/9/05)
Psychologist Shelley Taylor wrote: “Normal people exaggerate how competent and well liked they are. Depressed people do not. Normal [?] people remember their past behavior with a rosy glow. Depressed people are more even-handed…On virtually every point on which normal people show enhanced self-regard, illusions of control, and unrealistic visions of the future, depressed people fail to show the same biases.” (Positive Illusions p.214)
We all need hope, but once we reject the God of the Bible, we are left with little recourse but to hope in ourselves. This requires us to embrace self-deception and to continually demand affirmation from others to maintain our self-esteem. Eventually, the narcissist will drive others away. Relational disagreements cannot be resolved in view of our conflicted self-constructed realities. Besides, wise management depends on accurate input and feedback. However, once self-knowledge is rejected, lies are certain to fill the vacuum.
How much better to humbly accept ourselves the way we are and to finally take off our false face so that we can even laugh at ourselves and our foibles. This draws others to us, while the narcissist drives them away.
However self-acceptance ends the struggle to impress but is only possible with the assurance of God’s love, care, and oversight. If He accepts us, then we can begin to accept ourselves.
