Jesus' Purpose: Start a Behavioral Health Revolution

By Karl Benzio, CP Guest Contributor Thursday, July 17, 2014

This article's headline might sound like I am missing the theological mark, but I challenge you to read on, then form your opinion.

As a psychiatrist, I apply a BioPsychoSpiritual model to help people explore and understand how God designed them, how the design got broken and how to restore it for joyful and fulfilled living.

So first, a few definitions.

• Behavioral Health (BH) is a branch of medicine that focuses on the reciprocal relationship between a holistic view of human behavior and the well-being of the body as a whole entity. In other words, BH uses our external behaviors as a starting point to understand what's going on internally with the purpose of improving on the inside.
• A Revolution is an overthrow of one social order in favor of a new one.
• Psyche is Greek for the soul, spirit or core inner essence of a person.

When Jesus came, man was struggling. The human condition was in a desperate state, and people were overwhelmed and short on answers. Jesus started healing people in amazing numbers. He even sent his disciples out and empowered them to heal as well.

In Luke 4, from a behavioral health perspective, when Jesus is in the synagogue teaching from Isaiah 61:1, He proclaims He is the one prophesied to heal the broken-hearted (including depressed or psychologically struggling) and set the captives (including addicts) free. In John 10:10, He tells us He came so we might be saved from our sins to have a spiritually and psychologically abundant life. A life of fulfillment and joy, engagement and purpose, meaning and value. The psychological Promised Land!

All of Jesus' teachings and efforts are to move us from an old way of looking at ourselves and God, to a more profound set of lenses that see and hear the truth. He came to testify to the truth, and the truth sets us free from the lies, traps and strongholds that Satan and this crazy world system use to brainwash us.

Paul warns us the battlefield isn't one of flesh and blood. The battle for our soul is waged in our mind – in the psychological arena, the psyche, the essence of who we are. Satan knows this is where he has a chance, so he attacks with full force. When Satan tempted Jesus, he didn't physically force or torture Him; he tried to trick Him, using psychological warfare to appeal to His emotions and pride.

Jesus chastised the Pharisees because they were hearers of the word, but not doers. He showed us how to examine ourselves, explained to us who God really is and how much He loves us, and modeled how to apply His teachings to transform our inner selves, which will lead to good works of salt and light on the outside.

Jesus' concepts and teachings didn't just reaffirm the old ways; they fulfilled the law and established a new Behavioral Health treatment plan to heal the broken-hearted and set the captives free. His plan was so revolutionary and life-saving that masses flocked to him while those locked in the old way of thinking were dumbfounded by His ideology and threatened by His success.

Yes, Jesus came to fulfill prophecy, die for our sins, fulfill the law, save the lost, serve the church, pay the ransom, bring abundant life, do the will of God and destroy the works of the devil. But adding all these together, Jesus' ultimate purpose was radically to change our vision of fulfillment, purpose and success while teaching a whole new treatment plan for how to attain this true BioPsychoSpiritual healing, starting at our core and rippling out to our everyday behaviors for abundant living. That, my brothers and sisters, was the start of the radical Behavioral Health Revolution Jesus established and we are called to continue.

We are now at an exciting time when our science is validating Jesus' teachings. Let's rekindle this Behavioral Health Revolution and show the world the profound healing powers the Holy Bible teaches.

Remember, Godly decisions determine your life, so choose well!