Sourcing

In a lecture titled, “Psychotherapists or the Clergy”, Carl Jung asserts that Neurosis occurs because the individual loses "that which the living religions of every age have given to their followers," namely, "a religious outlook on life." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA)

Jung was not promoting Christianity (or any other specific religion). But he was in agreement with Psalm 14.

A human being must be able to find a source of meaning, a source of security, and a source of identity. The status of these three things will be reflected in the health of the person.

That’s Jung.

It would be indeed foolish to deny that these three are human essentials; it would be foolisher yet to outsource them to anything other than Yahweh, the God of the Bible.

That’s Psalm 14:1.

At least that’s the obvious thing Psalm 14:1 is saying.

But consider it also this way: it would be foolishest to miss the main point, which is that wherever you source your meaning, security, and identity in life… is “god” to you.

That’s where Jung and Psalm 14:1 agree perfectly.

Jung’s point is that the drive for meaning, security, and identity is so intrinsically human that we will deify our source. 

(To "deify" something is to treat it as if it were actually God.)

Psalm 14 is simply pointing us to the only Divine Source, Yahweh, the God of the Bible.

If we take the Bible at its word, Yahweh is the sole Source of everything. 

In the beginning He created, before the beginning there was only Him.

The One who creates, provides. He is our ReSource.

A singular Source of authority and power, Yahweh cannot be wrong, cannot be outdone, and must be completely responsible for all creation.

Put it this way, if God is the author of both power and law, then no other being or thing can make any claim against him.

Jesus Christ, in the Bible, claims that authority, and he demonstrates that power. This is why Christians are right to worship Jesus as God incarnate.

Jesus is the real God in human flesh.

Martin Luther probably said it even better than Jung when, in his Large Catechism, he wrote, “Our god is whatever we put our trust in.”

Christians know and understand this; they are also compelled by the God of authority and power to make disciples everywhere they go.

Christians who want to be effective in sharing their faith must realize that the conversation almost always begins somewhere other than Psalm 14:1.

Outsourcing

Outsourcing our meaning, security, and identity to counterfeit gods is the oldest sin in the book.

Within human cultures, outsourcing can be observed in patterns.

Canaanite outsourcing looked to Baal and Asherah, for example. Not everyone worshiped these false deities, but most did. Baal worship was a pattern of outsourcing in that culture.

False religions of all kinds, atheism, consumerism, liberalism and conservatism - pretty much anything that ends in “-ism” are all observable patterns of outsourcing.

Ayn Rand suggested a helpful definition of an “ism”. She said that an “ism” is an “idea” which has become an “absolute”.

So, for instance, Communism is the “absolutizing” of the idea of communal life. Communal life is a good thing, but it isn’t the ultimate thing. It isn’t God.

Communal life is so wonderful, actually, that Scripture recommends it as a blessing among Christians. 

Acts 2:44-45 tells us, “And all who believed were together and had all things in common; and they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need.”

So communal life is good. But communal life is not a source for meaning, security, or identity.

In other words, when God is replaced by the “commune”, you end up with Communism.

Instead of having God who provides the blessing of a community, Communism turns the community into the god.

Communism is just one of many ways we’ve seen human beings outsource.

deSourcing

21st Century American Culture has provided many patterns of outsourcing which are all godless.

Only the God who is a person can be a personal God.

And here’s the important point: as Francis Schaefer points out, “those who depersonalize their Creator depersonalize themselves.”

Of course this would be true. No counterfeit god has the power to personify - to author a person.

Christians can be fairly certain that their outsourcing neighbors are lacking a True, Divine Source for security, meaning, and purpose. 

Outsourcing actually undermines what it truly means to experience life as a human being created by and in the image of God.

This is not a statement of superiority. Christians aren’t “better”. As any Christian must know, we are quite a mess of outsourcing too.

reSourcing

But Christians have been born anew into a “Pattern” of meaning, security, and identity which comes solely from God, their creator and redeemer. This is the Biblical concept of “shalom”. 

It’s a peace which surpasses understanding.

This means that in the midst of their outsourcing , Christians have been visited by the incarnate God who died and rose again, forgiving, renewing, and leading - “Re-Sourcing ” the Christian back into a right relationship with their God.

Christians - through the means of God’s grace - will always have Yahweh reasserting Himself, constantly providing TheSource of meaning, security, and you guessed it, identity.

The Problem

Why is this message so difficult for our outsourced neighbors to hear? It’s such a joyful message in the ears of a Christian… So why isn’t the Christian Gospel more contagious?

The answer lies in the problem of being a human creature.

Because we are human, our life has an author. Humans don’t make themselves alive.

Christians understand this existentially. God created them male and female.

But everyone else understands this to one extent or another. Nobody chooses to be born. This is quite a millstone.

Human beings resent the fact that we have no hope of obtaining absolute authority.

Outsourcing for meaning and purpose is nothing less than an attempt to wrestle absolute authority away from the only One who can legitimately claim absolute authority.

Outsourcing is a synonym for rebellion.

The fact that Christians experience this kind of sin too means that, in some respects, the Christian life can be more fraught with feelings of insecurity than the life of an atheist!

Why? Because the Christian’s God - an actual living being - never stops undermining the Christian’s outsourcing. 

God relentlessly pursues His wayward sheep.

For someone who has not been born anew into a living faith in the Living God, all their gods are lifeless. 

One can live an entire lifetime depending on lifeless gods. 

It’s doable. It will never be the fullness of life that God has promised those who trust in Him, but it is still a life.

A Christian is a fool whenever he rejects God’s centripetal call to repentance and restoration.

Such a Christian is a “Psalm 14:1 Christian” who is effectively saying that there is no God.

The Good News

If that’s you, take heart. God won’t give up.

God perfectly keeps every promise, and the promise He made to you at your baptism was that He would keep after you until He finally calls you home.

Be advised: even now He is working to undermine that rebellious and shaky confidence you’ve placed in some cheap substitute source for your security. 

He has already claimed the throne of your heart. He won’t give it up without a fight!

As for your outsourcing friends and neighbors, listen for those life blessings they’ve deified. What “good thing” have they turned into an “absolute thing”? What are their “isms”?

People are always glad to sing the praises of their gods. Don’t be afraid to listen. They are sharing the roadmap God will take to their hearts.

God loves that person as much as He loves you, so you can be absolutely certain that He is working through the Spirit to capture the throne of every heart.

Remember that, as Robert Frost wrote in Death of a Hired Man, “God has committed Himself to having to take us in even though we don’t deserve it.”

And since being “taken in” isn’t something anyone can ever “deserve”, it would be a mistake to keep exhorting your outsourcing friend to start behaving like he should deserve it.

When we teach people that their relationship with God is dependent on their own obedience, we offer them a false source.

The True SOURCE

Better to help your friend see the shortcomings of his outsourcing . Then assure him that God’s RESOURCES are a free gift through faith in Jesus Christ.

Counterfeit gods cannot save, cannot survive, and cannot know the one who trusts it.

Let your friend know that she or he is KNOWN. 

This is the most gentle, gracious, and helpful way for God to begin to address anyone’s foolishness.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, I acknowledge that Jesus is my creator; the author and perfecter of my faith. I confess my sinful outsourcing. Forgive me. Meanwhile, teach me to slow down long enough to understand my neighbors. Use me to show them your mercy. Amen.