Published: July 18, 2008 06:29 pm            

Mike Scarlett: Is your brain’s hard drive about to crash?

As a counselor I see clients for many reasons, such as marriage conflict, depression, anger management, vocational guidance, abuse and the list goes on and on.

For whatever reason people come to counseling, one consistent thing seems to affect the outcome of therapy. That thing is how the client views the world.

Each person has a unique perspective or “worldview” based on the different people and circumstances that have influenced their lives.

What is a worldview? In essence it is how we see or view the world. It includes the sum of all of our experiences that interact to form the foundation for our decision-making.

Within this collection we form our values, beliefs and opinions about how the world should be. An example of this can be seen in the present war our country is engaged in.

If an American were asked why we are in Iraq the response might be “911,” or “war on terror,” or “freeing the Iraqi people,” or “profits for big oil companies,” or “power,” or some other response.

If Muslim insurgents were asked why they are fighting us they might say defending our soil,” or “jihad,” or “American bombs killed my mother and father.”

What people do or believe is affected by how they view the world.

Paul may have been alluding to worldviews when he said, “We look through a glass darkly.” (1 Cor. 13:12)

Today, glass is clear and can be seen through very easily. Glass from a hundred years ago was often very wavy, causing things on the other side of the glass to look a little distorted. In Paul’s day I am told that glass was not clear and was likely made by shearing off thin pieces of a glass-like volcanic material called obsidian.

Obsidian lets in some light but is very difficult, if not impossible, to see through it. The message here is that we don’t always see things clearly.

Individuals hold many different worldviews. Often times these views of the world are in conflict with each other and create confusion and frustration within the individual.

For example, as children most of us were probably taught to share and give to others. This value is directly opposite of the dog-eat-dog work environment in which the goal is to win at all costs, even if it means compromising your values or hurting others.

Another example is the double standard that society offers about marriage. We know and are taught that divorce hurts the child and undermines the very fabric of society and yet our media, through television and movies, encourages infidelity.

As we live our lives and deal with integrating opposing worldviews, it is easy for the individual to become confused and frustrated. This can lead to a host of emotional and physical problems.

An old television program called “Lost in Space” had a robot who was programmed to protect the Robinson family. Whenever the evil Dr. Smith would add a command for the robot to hurt one of the Robinsons the robot would repeat, “That does not compute, that does not compute.” Trying to resolve the conflicting message would eventually cause the robot’s hard drive to shut down.

This is not unlike what happens to some who are experiencing depression.

Like the robot, some individuals with depression may be overloaded with internal conflict that eventually leads to their emotions shutting down.

Marriage further complicates the situation because each person in the marriage relationship has his or her own views of the world. An inability to resolve opposing views in a marriage can cause the marriage to shut down as well.

As Americans many of us have a mix of two primary worldviews. These are the Judaeo-Christian worldview and the pop pulture worldview.

As a Christian counselor often times one of my challenges is to help a client to understand and resolve the conflicts, or dilemmas created by these opposing worldviews. A consistent view of the world can act as a roadmap for our lives so that we won’t be “lost in space.”



Mike Scarlett is a Christian counselor and public speaker and is staff counselor at Southwest Family Church in Cleburne. He may be contacted at www.mikescarlett.com or 817-556-2750.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.