5. Common Grace

Common grace is the ability of God to give gifts (of wisdom, power, beauty, etc) totally  irrespective of merit, on the just and unjust alike, allowing lost people to have more of it sometimes than saved people (Romans 13:1, Matt 5:45, Psalm 145:9, John 1:9, Luke 16:1-11). In our daily lives it’s easy to see how men like Steve Jobs, Thomas Jefferson, and Freddy Mercury and their contributions to the world reflect God-given gifts in major ways despite being unbelievers, not to mention mechanics, customer service representatives, and shelf stockers who Martin Luther would describe as the “masks of God” (1), the means by which he gives us our daily bread, protects us, etc. Common grace is wonderful for both our good and God’s glory, making life a lot better in non-salvific ways.

Prominent positive psychology author and researcher Shawn Achor has studied happiness in very helpful ways. One of his principles for success is to make habits you want to form have as few barriers as possible (think having your Bible as the homepage that pops up when you start your browser) while the things you don’t want to become habitual having extra barriers (think having to open a page and log into your social media account every time instead of having the page saved and logged in already). By structuring our lives to lower the “activation energy” needed to start a task, making the good things easily accessible and the junk food things less accessible, we become far less reliant on finite reserves of willpower that can get exhausted from making regular decisions, and naturally fall into better habits (2).

Gary Wilson details a resounding secular condemnation of porn based on neurological addiction patterns that lead to a variety of distresses and dysfunctions (3). Listening to his depictions of the consequences of porn, the ways the brain works, some resources for quitting porn and the hope of a better life without it have helped some people. Seeing the data of real world consequences, and practical tips in response are useful to anyone looking at these issue, whether they discard the broader secular philosophies that these psychologists have or not. 

In effect, secular psychologists may observe aspects of the human mind that help us understand the mechanics of it in helpful ways, and may help spark ideas for how to carry out Biblical prescriptions, but our understanding of the problem and solution must be dictated by the Bible, the only source that tells us how to relate to God through the process (Romans 1:20-21). Moreover, the Bible has the essential answers to implement while secular research is optional, though it may be helpful in finding suitable options for implementing Biblical solutions.

(1) http://betweenthetimes.com/index.php/2013/08/15/martin-luther-on-the-masks-of-god/

(2)  The Happiness Advantage, Shawn Achor, pages 152-156

(3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSF82AwSDiU&ab_channel=TEDxTalks

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