The apostle Paul wrote to Christians in Rome: “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:1-2). Paul teaches here that we will be conformed to this world if we are transformed by renewing our minds.
There is a whole field of study called cognitive behavioral therapy that focuses on changing the way we think so that we can alter our emotions and be better people. I have recently read one such book, Dr. David Burns’s, Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy. It seems to me that when you combine such a book which focuses on clearing up your thinking with what the Bible teaches on the nature of man, summarized quite well in Chad Ramsey’s book In God’s Image, you have a solid foundation for overcoming discouragement and its worst cousin, depression.
A depressed person sees himself or herself as a “loser,” an inadequate person doomed to frustration, deprivation, humiliation, and failure (Burns, xi). Depression often results from distorted thinking: the depressed person thinks in peculiar and negative ways about himself, his environment, and his future. We have often seen handsome, athletic boys or pretty, talented young girls who have low self-esteem. We look at them, from the outside, and ask, “Why?” It is because their thinking, for whatever reason, is distorted. This distortion affects their mood, their motivation, and relationships with others which leads to the full spectrum of psychological and physical symptoms typical of depression (Burns, xii).
But, the basis for cognitive therapy is that people can learn to control painful mood swings and self-defeating behavior through the application of a few relatively simple principles and techniques. Solomon wrote: “For as he thinks within himself, so he is” (Prov. 23:7). To a large degree, we are products of our thinking.
You can defeat depression by changing the negative thinking patterns that cause it (Burns, xxvii). In 1994, a study was published based on surveys of 500 mental health professionals, asking whether they “prescribed” books for patients to read between sessions to help with recovery. Seventy-percent indicated they had recommended at least three self-help books and 86% reported that these books provided a positive benefit for their patients (Burns, xxix). Imagine if one of those books was the Bible!
Cognitive therapy is based on these principles (Burns, 12-13):
1. All your moods are created by your thoughts.
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2. When you are depressed, your thoughts are consumed with negativity.
3. Negative thoughts are always distortions of reality.
4. You can learn to deal with your moods effectively. Master methods that help you pinpoint and eliminate mental distortions which cause you to feel upset.
What is going to be crucial is your willingness to help yourself, to physically do what we are suggesting based on the Scriptures we present. “No matter how miserable, depressed, and pessimistic you now feel, I am convinced that you can experience beneficial effects if you are willing to apply the methods described” (Burns, 16) in our class with persistence and consistency.
So, for the next thirteen weeks, we are going to combine biblical teaching, with the aid of Ramsey’s book, with the cognitive therapy principles shared in Burns’s book, to help each of us develop a “new way of thinking.”
Paul Holland
