Science Confirms Scripture: When psychology catches up with the Bible
Modern psychotherapy is grounded in research and evidence from brain scans and extensive research data. The vital evidence in modern therapy is presented to us as something new, exciting, and beneficial to all. The more I delve into the research and study the evidence-based therapeutic tools, the more I realize that we had tools and answers before Sigmund Freud was born in 1856. Let’s look at one of the most popular and talked-about therapy books, Dopamine Nation, which talks about struggles with addiction and overconsumption. An experienced psychiatrist and researcher, Lemke uses real-life case studies to show that pleasure seeking and instant gratification do serious damage to a human brain, especially the brains of young children. The only possible cures offered by Lemke’s team are dopamine fast, self-control, and the ability to withstand intentional discomfort.
A well-known study conducted at Stanford University in the 1960s offers valuable insights into the benefits of delaying gratification. In the study, children were placed in a room with one marshmallow on a plate. The lead researcher gave the children easy instructions: You can eat the marshmallow now, or wait 15 minutes and receive two marshmallows. The researchers found that children who could wait for the second marshmallow without eating the first one scored higher on standardized tests, had better health, and were less likely to exhibit behavioral problems.
Being able to delay satisfaction isn’t the easiest skill to acquire. It involves dissatisfaction, so it seems impossible for people who haven’t learned to control their impulses. Choosing to have something now might feel good, but making an effort to have discipline and manage your impulses can result in bigger or better rewards in the future. Over time, delaying gratification will enhance your self-control and ultimately help you achieve your long-term goals more efficiently.
Christian teachers have talked about the value of delayed gratification, fasting, and self-control for centuries. Self-control is also listed by the Apostle Paul as a “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal 5.22). God has given us free will, allowing us to choose whether to be guided by our desires and emotions or by our values. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament discuss the value of fasting, which involves abstaining from food and drink to focus on prayer and seeking God's will. Fasting is mentioned over 70 times throughout Scripture. In the gospel of Luke, we read how Jesus himself was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days, he ate nothing, but persevered and overcame the temptations. Jesus’ victory would be easy to dismiss (he is God, after all!) if it were not so clearly told that he was hungry. He endured the discomfort of hunger pangs for 40 days!
I once heard someone say that it was not as tempting for Jesus because there were not many tasty things in the desert. That our sugar, fat, and artificial flavored food is far more tempting! Who can say no to a donut and French fries after just one day of fasting?
High-speed internet and the availability of vivid images encourage instant gratification. As a therapist who often works with couples, I have seen a steady increase of marriages falling apart because of husband’s porn addition. Recent research shows that the sexual fantasies of an average male pale in comparison to internet-produced temptations. Researchers from the University of Massachusetts discovered that the availability of variety is strongly associated with overconsumption. A person tends to eat more at a buffet than at a dinner that offers just one main course. A person addicted to porn, used to a “smorgasbord” of internet sexual pleasures, will eventually develop an inability to be satisfied within a committed relationship. and if the habit goes long enough, an inability to experience pleasure from anything except porn. Only complete abstinence from porn viewing rewires the brain and helps clients gain self-esteem and to connect with others, especially spouses.
Andrew Huberman, a renowned neuroscientist from Stanford University, believes that delaying gratification requires building distress tolerance, which is a challenging task. We have to be able to tolerate the discomfort of not eating a donut, not constantly checking our phone notifications, or not binge-watching Netflix. Nothing will change until someone living a life driven by impulses and emotions decides he can no longer bear living this way. The scale must tip so that the pain of staying the same outweighs the pain of change. Authentic change can come when we truly learn to rely on God’s will and utilize the tools of change that always were and still are readily available to us in His word.
Natasha Busscher, MS LPC
