Christianity – As it Is – Is Adapted to Man – As He Is
Years ago, brother Wendell Winkler shared with the “preacher boys” in class at Faulkner University a sermon by brother Benjamin Franklin in which he made a statement similar to that above. Actually, I believe he said, “The Bible as it is is adapted to man as he is.” Both statements are, of course, true. One is true because the other is true.
Recently I have finished reading a book by Professor Sonja Lyubomirsky entitled The Myths of Happiness. Through her on-going research, and that of others which she presents in the book, Lyubomirsky has observed that humans adapt quite easily to bad events as well as good events, and that rather quickly. Her sections and chapters are devoted to various events in our lives which we tend to think will make us or break us.
As she details how to be “happy” despite the bad things in our lives – to me – she argues for the effectiveness of Christianity as God has presented it to us in His word. I wish to share thoughts with you as we see her research on happiness intersect with what the Bible teaches. We have long taught, correctly, that evolution cannot be true because true science is anti-evolution and supports the biblical teaching on creation. The same is true with psychology (or any other of the sciences). God made and designed man (and his “psychology”) and, therefore, designed His religion to meet man’s needs.
We take Professor Lybomirsky’s first chapter as our initial example. It deals with marriage. Many people believe that they cannot be happy until they are “married to the right person.” A degree of dissatisfaction sets into a marriage after the “honeymoon phase” wears off. Psychologists call it “hedonic adaptation.” What once caused tingling sensations in our hearts now barely registers anything. That is why it is so easy for us to take things, events, and especially people, for granted. We get use to it/them. Our happiness stagnates.
Love begins with infatuation, passion, and electricity. It ought to mature over a period of time into a deep affection, a spiritual connection, and a mutual “liking” of one another. So, what do you do when you find yourself feeling as if you have adapted to your spouse to the point that you do not feel any more “zing” with them?
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Each of us who are married ought to remind ourselves frequently of the words of Moses found in Genesis 2:22: “The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.” Do you see your spouse as God’s gift to you? Appreciate him/her. Appreciate their differences and be glad you did not marry a mirror image!
Some form of the word “thanks” is found 132 times in the ESV. That’s twice in each book. Thanksgiving is an important part of the Christian life and, research is showing (duh!) that it is also vital to a healthy marriage.
For Rachel’s 38th birthday, each of us made a list of 38 reasons why we love her. As you can imagine, there was a lot of overlap but many points were different and unique. So, she was informed of 100+ reasons why her family is thankful for her.
That’s what Christianity teaches. That makes for a strong marriage.
–Paul Holland
