Christians seek to be trusted persons

Christians seek to be trusted persons

No. 7 Fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23

In the book LIFESKILLS 101: Higher Core Values Winners Live By

Faith and trust are the same word in the Greek language.

THE BIBLE AND SCIENCE

Let us connect the Biblical word "faith" with one of the social sciences’ favorite term, “trust.” Greek word is pistis. The King James translation of Galatians 5:23 uses the word “faith.” The But sometimes pistis is translated with the English word “trust.” The Living Bible frequently uses the word “trust” instead of “faith (King James),” or “faithfulness (RSV), or “fidelity” (Moffatt, Phillips), or “loyalty” (Barclay).” In the Living Bible pistis is translated into “trust” in Romans 3:2, 3:22, 3:31, 4:13, 4:20, 10:8, I Cor 15:14, I Cor 15:17, I Timothy 1:14, 2:15, 3:13, 6:11, II Timothy 1:5, 3:15, etc. There are at least a dozen places where the Living Bible uses the word “trust” where other translations use “faith” or “faithfulness.” The Old Testament uses other words for “trust.”; aman, batach, or chasah. These words are mostly translated into the English word “trust.” There are nearly 75 Old Testament expressions of faith, where the English word “trust” is used. With this in mind, it is appropriate to use both the words “faith” and “trust” when describing this 7th Fruit of the Spirit.

God is our model. God exemplifies faith and trust. God turned his people loose. He has faith in them to do the job for him. God trusts us with the church, his body. God has faith and trust, like parents have faith and trust. They instruct and allow autonomy to learn. Parents, like God, accept a certain amount of their children’s undesirable behavior, while children grow up. Parents, like God, sense their children need some autonomy to become independent. A parent who exercises faith and trust, rather than harping and excessive control, gains respect. God does it that way too. Faith and trust become core concepts, both in the Bible and in the personality sciences.

Benefits of faith and trust

P ersons who filled out an 896 question data-gathering instrument have demonstrated statistically that there are numerous benefits from having an above average level of faith and trust. Faith (trust) is something that may be influenced by sickness, conflict at work, demands at home, etc., but it’s deeper. Faithfulness is part of a person’s belief system that prevents or overrides sickness, conflict, demands at home, etc. This research finds absenteeism is also a belief problem. For example, higher absenteeism is associated with lower levels of faithfulness. Just how that occurs and what pathways it takes is not part of this research. In general, the conclusion is that one may quite likely lower his/her absenteeism rate by several behaviors, including a stronger commitment to elevating FAITH-(fulness), the No. 7 Fruit of the Spirit.

Faith and trust in science and Christianity

Major personality scientists have previously explored “trust” (Gordon Allport, Milton Rokeach, etc.) and other personality factors that contribute to personal well-being. When this research was organized, 342 personality factors of 39 major published personality tests were synthesized around the Fruit(s) of the Spirit of Galatians 5:22-23. Specifically, 13 of those 342 personality factors fit close to the concept of “faithfulness” and “trust.”

There was a close correlation between the concepts that are found in the Bible and those concepts found in 39 major personality scientists from 39 major universities. The statistics in this chapter are the result of that overlay of basic optimum lifeskills, as transmitted by the Apostle Paul and the personality scientists.

Faith and trust generate the same in others.

When you have faith in yourself, your position, your associations, your goals and your performance, you exhibit trust. It is an ideal state of being. The Apostle Paul said that was true. Our instincts tell us that is true. A person may not have superior trust behavior all the time. That is OK. People who have this kind of faith and trust in others, generate an image that they are also trustworthy. There is a reciprocal relation between having faith/trust, giving faith/trust and receiving the faith/trust from others.

The model of this is God. His exercise of faith and trust in us produces an atmosphere where we can reciprocate and place our faith and trust in him. God may be disappointed in us, but, like a parent, has little inclination to abandon those He has spent time helping, the ones who now trust him.

Having faith and generating faith in others is a very high quality. Likewise, having trust and generating trustworthiness is a quality quite rare in its highest form. Faith and trust counteract, deter, and neutralize low self-esteem.

Erik Erikson, Ph.D. (1902-1970), born in Frankfort Germany to Swedish parents, contributed a great deal to the social sciences in the past. Erik Erikson called the world’s attention to the deep need for trust. He had a simple stair-step formula that displayed seven stages of development; 1. trust, 2. autonomy, 3. initiative, 4. industry, 5. identity, 6. intimacy, 7. generativity, and 8. ego identity. These eight steps lead upward to maturity. Erikson showed us that sufficient trust in the early stages lead step-by-step to “ego identity” (maturity). In parallel Erikson set forth 8 steps that lead to depression and “despair.” Those 8 downward spiraling steps were, mistrust, doubt, guilt, inferiority, role confusion, isolation, stagnation and despair. Without sufficient “trust” in the first stage, the second stage “autonomy” is contaminated by a proportion of “shame” or “doubt.” Excessive mistrust tends to decrease functionality and cause the downward spiral toward “despair.” Without adequate trust people take more of the downward spiraling 8 steps than the upward-marching 8 steps. Depression and despair are at the bottom (in varying degrees).

Eight graphs on the next pages will demonstrate Erikson’s understanding. The graphs are taken from the data gathered in the research. The data was not gathered around Erikson’s 8 stages. The data was collected around three personality inventories created by the author, with personal history and personal questions added.

THE KEY THEME OF THIS MATERIAL

Persons who profess a belief in Jesus Christ trust God’s Holy Spirit to work in their souls (psyche) and bring about elevated levels of Fruit(s) of the Spirit. Higher levels of Fruit(s) of the Spirit do not always occur automatically as a result of faith. Believers know they need to learn how to translate the best beliefs into the best behaviors, in order to obtain the most optimum outcome for health, happiness and well-being.

BEFORE WE GO FURTHER, IT MAY BE HELPFUL TO KNOW WHAT LEVEL OF “FAITH-FULNESS”, TRUST WE LIVE AT.

HIGH “FAITH, FAITHFULNESS” (in the form of TRUST) IS AT THE TOP, BUT BEING INSECURE, AND BEING JEALOUS IS AT THE LOWEST END OF THE SPECTRUM.

TO FIND OUT WHERE WE STAND BETWEEN THE CHARACTERISTICS OF “FAITH-FULNESS” AND THE CHARACTERISTICS OF INSECURITY – JEALOUSY, EACH OF YOU IS BEING OFFERED A TEST TO SEE WHERE YOU ARE IN THAT SPECTRUM. HERE IS THAT TEST.

PART 1

LET US MEASURE HOW STRONG OUR TRUST IS.

Pick out the most appropriate response.

Write the number of that response in the space provided by that statement.

0=Never, 1=Rarely, 2=Occasionally, 3=Sometimes, 4=Frequently, 5=Almost always

61. I am a trusting person.

62. My confidence eliminates jealous feelings.

63. I am able to put jealous feelings to rest.

64. In time of trials, I keep my faith and confidence.

65. I trust my spouse and/or friends to be faithful to me.

66. I have faith in myself and in others.

67. I refrain from suspicious-like questioning.

68. I put suspicions away until I have facts.

69. I refrain from accusations until I know the truth.

70. I let people make their own decisions without my help.

TOTAL

(Segment No. 7 of Darrell Franken’s Christian Personality Profile.)

(Copy this page for class members, or project this set of questions on a screen, and let the class members have a sheet of paper to answer these questions. Keep your answers to yourself.)

(Please remember that the questions focus on behaviors common to both Christians and non-Christians. These questions seek to determine general distrust levels in all persons. Christians who live a Godly life will presumably have higher scores. The presence of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit should translate into higher-level TRUST.

CONVERSION OF RAW SCORES TO PERCENTILES

Find your raw score in the left column, and the score next to it will be your percentile score. The percentile is your score in relation to a cross section of the general population. (Raw=%)

1=1 11=1 21=5 31=20 41=65

2=1 12=1 22=6 32=23 42=70

3=1 13=1 23=7 33=25 43=75

4=1 14=1 24=8 34=27 44=80

5=1 15=1 25=9 35=30 45=85

6=1 16=1 26=10 36=37 46=90

7=1 17=1 27=12 37=44 47=95

8=1 18=2 28=14 38=50 48=97

9=1 19=3 29=16 39=55 49=98

10=1 20=4 30=18 40=60 50=99

(Example: If your raw score is 43, then your percentile score is 75, which means that only 25 out of 100 persons are more “trusting” than you - plus or minus about 5% points.)

Your percentile score is not a measurement of your TRUST in God, in Jesus Christ, or in forgiveness, etc. It is more of a measurement of your behaviors that come out of your spirit. Spirituality precedes “Fruit(s) of the Spirit,” according to Galatians 5:22-23. Fruit(s) come from the tree of Christian spirituality. This inventory is more like a measurement of one’s success in translating God’s salvation through Jesus Christ into more mature levels of behavior. TRUST is one of those factors that God rewards in a variety of ways. We saw some of those benefits in God’s promises and in the lines of the charts.

THE ERIKSON MODEL AND TRUST

TRUST ENHANCES POSITIVE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT.

LACK OF ABILITY TO TRUST TRIGGERS DETERIORATION PROCESSES.

Erik Erikson wrote the book on the life of Martin Luther, called, Young Man Luther, showing the various stages in Martin Luther’s life. Erikson saw an analogous relationship between the developmental stages of the human biological system and the human psychological system. There is no direct connection between the two. When looking at the diagrams think in terms of stages, like percentages, not all-or-none.

1. IN THE ERIKSON MODEL TRUST IS A BASIC

INGREDIENT THAT ENHANCES LIFE FROM

INFANCY TO THE MATURITY.

With this model a person can understand spiritual progress better. If TRUST is achieved adequately, people move up. If not, they start downward. You can get an idea of how “inferiority” feelings (Down, No. 4) develop, but also the route to rebuild them. The model gives us some clues about where “despair” (Down, No. 8) comes from, and perhaps some clues about how we might work our way back to “integrity” (Top No. 8), where we feel we have it all put back together again.

This is a flexible model that must be understood in general terms. The Christian model offers the view that a person can speed up or alter the course of psychological development through Christian faith and spirituality.

CORRELATION BETWEEN A SOCIOLOGICAL

MODEL AND A CHRISTIAN MODEL

The interesting thing about both the Erikson model and the Christian model, is that both are based on TRUST. Trust is one of the central feature in Christianity. In Christianity TRUST in God, in Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit enables a person to be “saved from the lust and rottenness that is all around us” (II Peter 1:4 LB). TRUST saves us from all 7 downward deteriorating behaviors in Erikson’s list. The Erikson model puts the focus more on self-TRUST, while Christianity puts the focus more on TRUST in Jesus Christ.

After nearly 100 years of scientific research in the social sciences, it has become obvious to many Christians that revealed truth (Biblical) regarding optimum lifeskills is not antithetical or at war with scientifically derived truth. I have published two books on stress management. I first wrote a secular book outlining 15 major stress factors and called it Health through Stress Reduction. While I was writing this book, I sensed that I could offer much of the same advice from a Biblical point of view. The second book covers Stress Management from the point of view of being a Christian. I called this book Healing Help through Stress Management. Combined, they make a good Adult Christian Education course. The participants studying Stress Management can see it from both a Christian and a secular point of view.

To see the correlations between religious truth and secular truth one may simply visit a Christian book store. Self-help books written by Christians offer treasured information that combines Biblical information with information from the social sciences. Christian writers are focusing on Assertiveness Training, anxiety reduction, etc. These topics basically come through the social sciences.

Throughout this Christian LifeSkills study/discussion course you see connections, associations and parallels between the secular and the religious.

CHRISTIAN TRUST IS MORE GOD-ORIENTED

In Christianity there is a strong emphasis in placing one’s TRUST in God. Both the Erikson model and the Christian model start with TRUST. Where the Erikson model displays how one might gain more TRUST in self, the Christian faith promotes TRUST in God. The desired end product is much the same, an optimally functioning person. The means to the end is different: more use of God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. The skills that assist are different. The Erikson model suggests you arrive at optimum lifeskills by leaning on mostly human assistance. Christianity suggests you arrive at optimum lifeskills via more divine assistance. Christianity combines divine and human (the church) assistance. Here is a Biblical statement that shows where Christians put their TRUST. “When I am afraid I put my TRUST in thee” (Psalm 56:3).

2. THE ERIKSON MODEL SUGGESTS THE IMPORTANCE OF TRUST FOR MAKING A FAIRLY COMPLETE

EMOTIONAL STEP TO AUTONOMY.

In the above stair-step developmental model autonomy grows to the optimum percentage possible. That percentage of the optimum level is largely established by the degree of trust achieved at the first level. Erikson based this on the fact that emotionally dysfunctional children usually come out of overly abusive parenting, insufficient Positive Strokes in the home, inadequate peer support in school, etc. Whatever the number of factors, the early environment had a harsh effect on the development of the child. Trust is weakened. But the model also indicates that people may experience harsh treatment later in life. Painful experiences can weaken trust in a person. That is why regular worship is necessary. Regular worship revitalizes trust.

DESTROYING LOVE AND TRUST

Unfortunately, the way to wreck the faith (pistis) and trust (pistis) machinery in a child is to yell a lot, criticize a lot, leave the child alone a lot, avoid touching and hugging, and keep the child away from other children. Make promises that you do not keep. Create as many disappointments in the child as you can. This behavior will ensure that the child is quite emotionally crippled. The likelihood is that such a child will never be able to “trust” God either.

KEEPING IT ALIVE

TRUST, like many skills, needs to be practiced. If you don’t TRUST your multiplication memory of 6 times 6 equaling 36, you need to practice it. Perhaps you need to make some mental associations to remember. TRUSTING yourself may also require that you make conscious comparisons to stay anchored in your self-trust. Compare what you think with authorities, like God and in His Word. Adult Christian Education tends to help persons with their ability to TRUST n a wide variety of situations.

TRUST ENHANCES AUTONOMY.

WE LEARN TO TRUST SELF AND OTHERS FROM OUR TRUST IN GOD. THAT GIVES US MORE FREEDOM AND AUTONOMY TO RUN OUR LIVES PROPERLY.

In the 1900's many children were brought up in orphanages. One psychologist was concerned. He believed that these orphan children were not getting enough love, holding, touching, interacting and play with an adult. He proposed an experiment supervised by the University of Chicago psychology department. He obtained permission to put half of the children in a “home for feeble minded.” That is what they called those places that took care of adults who had not developed mentally like most people. Even though these adults were what people called, “retarded,” they had lots of love to give. The theory was that these very loving adults would take care of half the infants until they grew up, while the other half were taken care of in the orphanage. This was a scientific experiment and therefore many observations were recorded. Over time the children in the “home for feeble minded women” showed many signs of improved development, more than the orphans. The researchers concluded that the love and attention from “feeble minded” caretakers increased the children’s Intelligence. Twenty five years later a different set of researchers did a follow up. They discovered that the children who lived with the love, trust, care and attention from the mentally retarded care-takers, had paid Income taxes roughly equivalent to the amount of money the orphanaged children were still costing society.

DISCUSS YOUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS?

When our love and trust is empowered by God, from outside us, like the orphan children who were loved and trusted, we become more functional and more comfortable, possibly even more productive. Right? Possibly? No? ------- “In God have I put my trust; I will not be afraid of what man can do to me.” (Psalm 56:11 KJ)

3. THE NEXT STEP UP IN EMOTIONAL

DEVELOPMENT IS TAKING INITIATIVE.

In Developmental Stage Step No. 3 the figure above demonstrates the ability to take responsibility, which is taking initiative. Here and there we see a worker who can’t take initiative. That person will wait until s/he is told what to do. That may be OK for the first day or two, but soon the person should be able to sense what is needed next and proceed. Such a person may not have achieved the optimum level of “trust” in some stage of life. Having been cheated out of “trust” and not having made sufficient advances in “autonomy,” the person remains passive.

The Erikson model is basically universal. Time Magazine showed that. Time reports that singer Janet Jackson “has been steadily issuing updated versions of herself over the years” (October 20, 1997). The article indicates that Janet’s recording albums show her first, “tentative” (slight self-mistrust), then she “asserted her identity” (Step 5), and more recently she “began to address social issues” (Step 8, “integrity” — creativity). Naturally, as she gets more experience and as the positive feedback grows, her TRUST in herself will grow. The Time Magazine article did not include Erikson’s stages, but Time shows that the Erikson model is common to our understanding

The lesson from this is quite simple. When a person does not feel a lot of self-trust, the tendency is to pull back, withdraw, be shy, inhibited, and fearful. TRUST grows when a person learns truthful information and gets positive feedback. Also TRUST grows when a person engages God to empower the soul (psyche) to believe and function with borrowed power from God.

DISCUSS YOUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS?

What is the fastest way to regain one’s ability to “trust” (others and self) if most of your life you have been pulling back, withdrawing, being shy, being inhibited and being fearful?

TRUST INCREASES INITIATIVE

One’s personal inner ability to trust is linked to “initiative.” One of the factors in the 896 data collection instrument dealt with ego strength and its ability to take initative. In psychology the ego is the integrating factor between what we ought to do and what we want to do. The marked line above is a measurement of the ego’s ability to manage oneself well. According to the chart a person’s “initiative” and “trust” go hand in hand with each other. The courage one needs to take INITIATIVE comes partly from some accumulation of one’s ability to TRUST. TRUST is a fundamental to INITIATIVE. And when a person takes INITIATIVE, it is somewhat in proportion to the first two stages, trust and autonomy. Notice in the chart that trust runs parallel to initiative. Lower trust is related to lower initiative. Higher trust is related to higher initiative. One’s ability to trust God and Jesus Christ enhances one’s inner (ego) strength, and one’s ability to take initiative. Therefore, faith and trust makes one a better employee. Trust in God helps formulate trust-grooves (habits) in our brains.

Both the social sciences and the Bible support the idea that a person with a habit of “trust” is functioning more optimally. Christian TRUST in God increases our TRUST in ourselves. One of God’s promises indicates this. “Blessed (benefitted) is the person who makes the Lord his/her trust” (Psalm 40:4 KJ). Another expression of this is found in Psalm 84:12 KJ. “Blessed (benefitted) is the person who trusts in the Lord” (Psalm 84:12). Winners trust more.

Josh McDowell, working for Campus Crusade, believes that young people have difficulty seeing the connection between faith and self-trust. He says, “Even Christian kids don’t believe in a Truth greater than themselves. They believe God exists, maybe, but they don’t relate to a universal set of values set by God” (Dallas Morning News. October, 1997).

4. STEP FOUR IS INDUSTRY VERSUS INFERIORITY.

INDUSTRY (or industriousness), according to the Erikson model is affected by how well a person has mastered the development of the preceding three steps. INDUSTRIOUSNESS in the Erikson model is opposite of INFERIORITY. The ability to be INDUSTRIOUS is probably influenced by more factors that the amount of trust or initiative a person has been able to receive and generate.

INFERIORITY would be the result of some inadequate development in the area of those three prior stages. Inferiority feelings, or low self-worth, or low self-esteem refer to generally the same problem in people.

Industries, factories or businesses often fail because they do not hire persons who function at higher levels of values. I was a consultant to a person doing Stress Management when a local industrial plant was being shut down in our city. The Stress Management counselor used some of the same data collection instruments that the author used for this research. When these inventories were submitted to my computer processing, the average scores for spiritual “values” was considerably lower than the average in the previously-collected computer’s data base. The only conclusion that could be made was that this plant which was being closed, had too many employees with lower-level spiritual values. It was strange to see this plant being closed in our city, when we have one of the most favorably growing economies in the United States. The Personnel Manager acknowledged that he gave jobs to people who had difficulty holding on to jobs. The official, present at the time of the report, was fascinated by what was disclosed. Yet, the plant went out of production. The employees did not have sufficiently high “industriousness” to make the plant operate at a profit.

DISCUSS YOUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS?

As an employee, do you think you are raising the general average of “industriousness” or are you lowering the general average of “industriousness?”

TRUST AND INDUSTRIOUSNESS ARE ASSOCIATED.

INCREASING LEVELS OF TRUST ARE ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASING LEVELS OF ASSERTIVENESS.

The chart shows that there is a correlation between people’s capacity to TRUST and be more INDUSTRIOUS, or hard working, assertive, taking initiative; the traits that make a profitable business. Let’s make it simple. Laziness is the opposite of industriousness. A factory or business can’t afford to have too many lazy person as employees. You know that. Employees are more valuable when they work faster, harder and smarter. But, according to the Erikson model, this ability to work faster, harder and smarter (industriousness) is built on TRUST, AUTONOMY, and INITIATIVE. Those are found in Stages 1, 2 and 3. Persons, therefore, who have built “trust” grooves in their brains and behavior have a head start at becoming INDUSTRIOUS, the characteristic most in demand in workers.

Generally, employees with the greatest amount of trust in themselves , autonomy (self-rule) and initiative, become the first ones to become the team leaders, the managers and the superintendents. They get noticed and they get rewarded. That is what is promised by God. Here is the promise of benefits for that TRUST (Psalm 37:9 LB). “Those who TRUST in the Lord shall be given every blessing (benefit)”

Persons without adequate TRUST are often trapped in their poverty. “The Lord shall be your confidence and shall keep thy foot from being caught (trapped)” (Proverbs 3:26 KJ).

DISCUSS YOUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS?

How convinced are you that your connection with God can help bring you up to optimum levels of TRUST and INITIATIVE and their benefits?

5. IDENTITY CLARITY VERSUS

IDENTITY CONFUSION.

Your identity (Stage 6) is how you view yourself. Who am I? What are my talents? What do I want to do with my life? Will I succeed or fail if I choose this occupation? Do the guys/girls like me? Can I get girls/guys to date me? Your identity, your view of yourself, has the power to propel you forward if it is more positive than negative. And if you perceive yourself more inferior, that can hold you back. Christianity offers a system that helps you keep your eye on your potential, with God’s help. Christianity offers you an ideal to keep you improving, rather than a self-perception that is a drag on your life. In this both the Erikson model and the Christian model agree.

The problem is that sometimes we hold on to what we think we are, or what we would like to be, but don’t know the potential of ourselves. That creates a large identity confusion. Sometimes this prevents us from making the next step into intimacy, or marriage (See Stage 6 above). Many persons are fearful of making a commitment to marry. They have an identity struggle, perhaps coupled with fear and ignorance of how to keep a marriage together.

When a person wants a clear sense of IDENTITY, the person is really wanting to know how God sees himself or herself. Because, ultimately, God knows a person’s talents and gifts best. Therefore, to get in touch with God is important. To resolve your IDENTITY, deal with God in such a way that you are open to the truth about your real self. Let God guide you in selecting a job, a marriage partner, a church, a friend, etc. God has promised to help us when we meditate on Him, pray to Him, associate with fellow believers, etc.

DISCUSS YOUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS?

Christianity is an identity replacement program. It helps you dump your irrational and imaginary views of yourself, and enables you to do the things God intended for you to do.

YOUR FAITH BECOMES YOUR IDENTITY

THE CHART SHOWS A PARALLEL BETWEEN FRUIT(S) OF THE SPIRIT, TRUST, AND THE ERIKSON CONCEPT OF SELF-CONFIDENCE. The author used the data on Fruit of the Spirit No. 7, “faith/trust” and data for SELF-CONFIDENCE to make the chart above. Science and Christianity support each other.

How does trust in God improve performance in each stage of trust: 2. autonomy , 3. initiative, 4. industry, 5. identity? The Erikson model was good for earlier psychotherapy. The psychotherapist was the person to provide the support and guidance to expand each of the 8 Stages. In the Christian model, God in Jesus Christ provides the support and guidance through the Holy Spirit and the church to expand each of the 8 Stages.

Stage Step No. 5 is IDENTITY. Specifically to this step, when a person finds himself or herself puzzled about what to do in the job world, or in other situations, the Christian additionally looks to the person of Jesus Christ. After taking all the aptitude tests, and studying some of the manuals which describe 20,000 jobs, the person needs to examine the passions of one’s psyche (soul). The person who is connected with God in one’s psyche (soul) needs to listen to the optimum lifestyle passions of the psyche (soul).

“He that cometh to God must believe that he is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6 KJ).

“Trust in the Lord and do good. . . He will vindicate you” (Psalm 37:3 KJ).

DISCUSS YOUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS?

Talk about how “trust or faith” in God helps persons through identity struggles.

6. INTIMACY VERSUS ISOLATION STAGE.

INTIMACY is one’s ability to have a deep and meaningful relationship. One’s level of INTIMACY is associated with the strength of one’s ability to TRUST. The Erikson model shows INTIMACY developing better when a person has matured sufficiently in Steps 1-5. Here is an example. Male individuals are more apt to be ready for marriage when they have a job. Having a job suggests that the young man/woman has thought through what occupation is most suitable for him/her. In this small illustration the young man has solved some of the identity questions about what his talents are, what he’d like to do, etc. Role Confusion has been dealt with and partly solved, at least for now. Then such a person is more ready for emotional intimacy.

BLOCKAGES TO INTIMACY

Inadequate INTIMACY does not all trace back to infancy and childhood. A mis-match in a previous marriage may leave one fearful to enter another INTIMACY. The death of a significant-other may block INTIMACY. It could be temporary. Sometimes the trauma is large enough to be long-lasting. Other blockages could exist. The amount, or size, or percentage of maximum INTIMACY may change. Circumstances, experiences and growth patterns can be accelerated or stunted. The same is true each of Erickson’s Stages.

Many persons are living together without legalized marriage. Some of those relationships have good amounts of INTIMACY. Others, perhaps not. The numbers of persons living together without a legal contract may be an indication of a number of things, including deficiencies along Stages 1 through 5.

DISCUSS YOUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS?

In a sense, a committed Christian should probably be more capable of a deeper or stronger intimacy with his or her partner. In what way may this be true or not true?

FAITH AND TRUST INCREASES INTIMACY

The chart shows how Fruit of the Spirit, No. 7, TRUST, functions in proportionate relationship with COMMUNICATION, and the intimacy derived from that. The research shows a correlation between peoples’ TRUST scores and COMMUNICATION scores. The author’s COMMUNICATION questions looked at how willing people were to share deeper feelings. The chart shows some support for Erikson’s model, while also giving the Christian faith some scientific credibility.

THE CHRISTIAN MODEL.

In the Christian faith solutions to STAGE deficiencies are obtained by establishing a connection of TRUST in God. One finds support for the psyche (soul) by connecting with God through Jesus Christ and his church. The promises of God are like Positive Strokes to the psyche (soul). The supports of worship, preaching, singing, and greeting fellow Christians are nourishment for the psyche (soul). Remember, a nourished emotional system (psyche, soul) grows in TRUST. A person upgrades deficiencies in TRUST among people who focus on God’s optimum lifeskills. God’s system, through the church, enables you to walk up those 8 steps (Stages) with a lot more confidence, resulting in less life-long stress, and higher level health and well-being.

“Do not be lazy but imitate those who through faith (Greek pistis=trust) and patience, inherit the promises” (Hebrews 6:12).

7. GENERATIVITY FLOWS IN PROPORTION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PREVIOUS 6 STAGES.

Generativity is a lot like creativity. Generativity is putting inner qualities and strengths together to elevate yourself and upgrade the human race. The artist, the inventor, the poet, the writer and the teacher have probably achieved GENERATIVITY more than most. When a person weaves through the misery and triumphs in this world, the person walks up and down these steps a lot. But ultimately each individual tries most of the time to be a better person. Of course, some never do. Their inner TRUST is mostly destroyed. They only minimally get to Stages 2, 3, or 4 through 8.

STEPHEN COVEY — ILLUSTRATES OPTIMUM PRODUCTIVITY

Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, is the world’s most renowned leader on Personal Leadership. Mr. Covey conducts seminars and speaks in seminars, largely in industry. He says,

“Renewing the spiritual dimension provides leadership to your life. The spiritual dimension is your core, your center, your commitment to your value system. It’s a very private area of life and a supremely important one. It draws upon the sources that inspire and uplift you and tie you to the timeless truths of all humanity. . . I find renewal in daily prayerful meditation on the scriptures because they represent my value system. As I read and meditate I feel renewed, strengthened, centered and recommitted to serve. . . Education -- continually honing and expanding the mind — is vital mental renewal. . . Renewal is the principle — and the process — that empowers us to move on an upward spiral of growth and change, of continuous improvement” (p. 292 ff).

GENERATIVITY AS MORE COMPLETE WELL-BEING

The author did not have a comparison chart for TRUST and GENERATIVITY. Instead, the author offers a comparison between TRUST and a health well-being indicator, namely “counseling.” Erikson created his 8 Stage model for psychotherapists. He believed that people’s problems often started with a lack of TRUST and several resulting deficiencies in “stages.” Notice that the graph partially supports Erikson’s idea. The smaller the amount of TRUST (left end of bottom-solid line) people have, the larger the amount of counseling sessions needed (top bar). Counseling is lowest for persons in the top one-third of higher scoring TRUST (right end of marked-upper line).

GENERATIVITY VERSUS STAGNATION

For Erikson, with every STAGE-step up, there is an equal possibility for a step down. Depression is next to the bottom of Erikson’s contrasting step-up and step-down model. Once a person suffers from mis-TRUST there is increased probability of having more personal trouble. Likewise, in reverse, persons generally have fewer troubles if the TRUST level goes up instead of down.

It would be surprising if you disregarded this fundamental sociological principle as well as the following Divinely ordained wisdom! “Those who TRUST in the Lord are like Mt. Zion which cannot be moved but abides forever” (Psalm 125:1 KJ).

DISCUSS YOUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS?

Both Erikson and this Christian research quite strongly agree that TRUST is important? Erikson’s “trust” is more “self-trust.” Yet, can you see the research process helping to substantiate or corroborate divine revelation?

8. INTEGRITY VERSUS DESPAIR

INTEGRITY is the result of commitment to higher standards.

INTEGRITY is mastery of self over one’s surroundings.

INTEGRITY is the expression of the psyche (soul) in creativity.

INTEGRITY for Erikson was the highest form of human functioning.

There was no thought that anyone would have 100 percent of it.

To have higher proportions of INTEGRITY was good.

TO FINALLY ARRIVE AT INTEGRITY THE PERSON NEEDS TO:

A. PLOT A WISE COURSE THAT MAXIMIZES EACH STEP ALONG THE WAY.

INTEGRITY

GENERATIVITY — >

INTIMACY — >

IDENTITY — >

INDUSTRY — >

INITIATIVE — >

AUTONOMY — >

TRUST — >

B. AVOID THE DETERIORATING EFFECT OF ACCUMULATIONS OF:

MISTRUST — >

SHAME, DOUBT — >

GUILT — >

INFERIORITY — >

ROLE CONFUSION — >

ISOLATION — >

STAGNATION — >

DESPAIR — >

FAITH – TRUST AND OPTIMUM LIVING

We are studying the 9 Fruit(s) of the Spirit, shown in the chart above. This chart is more like a picture. It is a picture of TRUST growing into optimum INTEGRITY, with the help of spiritual Fruit(s) like those in Galatians 5:22-23, (pictured above).

Reggie White, football player for the NFL champion Green Bay Packers, is a Christian. He is 6' 5" tall and weighs 290 pounds. He is clocked at 4.69 seconds for the 40 yard dash. His size and his speed are his assets in football. His faith has made him almost more famous than his football. He says, “There are some people who say Christianity is for Whimps, but they can say what they want. As far as I am concerned being a Christian makes you more of a man. Studying God’s Word helped keep my life on track, even though there were bad influences like drugs and crime all around me. . . People are missing out when they do not read God’s Word.” Reggie helped start URBAN HOPE in Wisconsin. This organization will “teach people how to start small businesses, then provide micro loans and business-planning assistance to help them succeed.” This 11 time All-Pro says God has laid it on his heart to have an impact on helping hurting people.

DISCUSS YOUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS?

Talk about or write about your next plan to upgrade your integrity, like Reggie White.

Which Stage do you need to work on first, second, third, etc.

PART 2

UNDERSTANDING AND UPGRADING TRUST

THIS IS YOU: — BODY — MIND — SPIRIT — PSYCHE

Whether one approaches optimum LifeSkills from a Biblical perspective or from a study of the social sciences, the person ultimately looks for the core issues. The Bible comes to this core with a strong recommendation that we look to the soul, sometimes also referred to as the “heart” of a person. Biblically, the soul is the core of a human being. The soul is the essence of a human. There are Biblical propositions that apply to correcting the inner core of a human being, his or her soul. Biblical solutions expressly state the need for a divinely transformed soul.

The social sciences are not as willing to apply their learning to promote optimum lifestyle values, or the LifeSkills to create them. The social sciences have been researching behavior traits for the past one hundred or more years. They have been searching for optimum lifeskills by examining the behaviors that produce problems. More recently there has been an emphasis on values as determinants of behavior.

Generally speaking, the world of the social sciences has not yet gotten around to accepting a standard set of values, hierarchically arranged from problematic to optimally good. This gets too close to making the social sciences into a new system that sounds like a religion. However, each of the Biblical and social science fields is strengthened by its common understanding of core ingredients for living.

CULTURAL EXPECTATIONS

The figure above points to a key issue. The animal on the left has no psyche (soul). There is a major difference between it and a person. There are unknown levels of development between the animal and the person. Yet certain behavior is obviously more human/divine than animalistic.

Our culture uses very little effort in cautioning people against the pitfalls of acting as if we had no psyche, no soul. There are some vague and powerful cultural guidelines in our society that inhibit us from teaching courses on how to live by optimum standards. Our television culture almost honors the behaviors of the least beneficial behaviors. Our cultural expectations ask us not to identify and promote optimum lifeskills. That might be embarrassing to too many people. Our social science culture is fearful. Optimum lifeskills and lifeskills sounds too much like telling people how to live. The problem is severe. The Apostle Paul described it:

“Although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles. Therefore, God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to dishonoring their bodies among themselves” (Romans 1:21-24 RSV).

The Bible says that about people who do not want to TRUST God’s optimum lifeskills. The social scientists see these people in jails, drug rehabilitation units and in clinics.

DISCUSS YOUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS?

Talk about, or write about the good things you, your church, or another group does to raise people’s level of improvement as in Erikson’s Stages.

WITH A DEGENERATED SOUL PEOPLE WOULD

FUNCTION MOSTLY LIKE THIS.

Two core parts of a human being are missing in the figure above. Two feet are added to symbolize what happens when a human being does not value SPIRIT and PSYCHE (soul).

It appears that some persons are avoiding contact with a good many optimum values and with the deep conscience of their souls. Even though both the Bible and the social sciences agree that SPIRIT and PSYCHE (soul) are core dimensions, people really do not know how to relate to SPIRIT and PSYCHE. Who talks to youth about SPIRITUAL VALUES and reasons to nurture the SOUL? Who talks to them so that they avoid a regression to lifeskills of our pre-historic grandparents? Who educates others about the statistical advantages of one lifestyle or LifeSkill over another?

It is time for the church to cross over and talk about the SPIRIT of humans, and which universal optimum VALUES are more beneficial. The job of Christians in the world is to increase spirituality, but the church has understood SPIRIT to mean Holy Spirit, Spirit of God, Spirit of Jesus. Well, that is OK, but the world then thinks it is prohibited from talking about anything “spiritual” unless they join the church. The net consequence is that the world has difficulty talking about optimum spiritual values. The world is backing off from most discussions of optimally helpful universal values. They think they are talking religious-talk when they are asked to talk about optimum spiritual values. The world delights in kicking the church for having optimum spiritual values. This book, these charts, and the linkage between the Bible and the social sciences can give the church and the world some confidence in selling the world on optimum spiritual values that deliver a larger number of benefits. The church can take the lessons from the research and application of this book to sell the world on the idea that there are optimum spiritual values that deliver benefits.

Christians are not simply called to “save souls” but to change the moral order of the world through “saving souls” and teaching them how to aspire to and access the benefits of higher levels of spiritual values.

SOCIETY NEEDS TO TEACH OPTIMUM VALUES

AND SKILLS.

Every spiritual value being promoted in this book is considered a universal value by Biblical and scientific evidence. God’s Fruit(s) of the Spirit have been shown to deliver beneficial results. Christians generally believe in them as universal. Social scientists would probably not (until they have read this book!). Most social scientists would probably acknowledge the optimum validity of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness (trust), gentleness (assertive) and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23) upon reading this book and the Statistical Manual (the ground work for this book) that shows the scientific approach taken. The social sciences have been investigating values, traits, behaviors and their theories for over 100 years. In the past half century more than 500 personality tests have been published, many seeking to discover which valued behavior is more destructive, and which valued behavior is more helpful.

The truth of the existence of optimum and universal values has been shown. May it not rest in peace.

MY COMMITMENT TO INCREASE MY FAITH/TRUST

EXAMPLES

1. As is true with all the Fruit(s) of the Spirit, I know that I need God’s assistance to increase my faith and trust. I also need the church, but I may also need to attend special “Institutes” and “Seminars” to increase my faith and trust higher than the average.

2. I will begin to call pastors of several churches to find out where there is a special event to upgrade my faith and trust. Here is my list of churches to call.

a. ______________________ b. _______________________

c. ______________________ d. _______________________

3. As Erik Erikson and the Bible agree that extremely negative experiences can weaken and harm our ability to trust, they agree that love helps rebuild that bridge to mental health. As I deal with my family, I need to find a system that fosters more love.

I need to:

a. increase my reading of Biblical persons with faith. Fill my mind with New Testament truth _______ (Check this.)

b. reward my children for every act of volunteering ______ (Check this.)

c. find some penalty and reward system that helps all of us grow increase self esteem, the basis for stronger trust _______ (Check this.)

4. I will make a large chart of Erikson’s steps to help remind me of the importance of having my own heart filled with God’s love as seen in Jesus Christ.

5. I will sing the song “Trust and Obey” repeatedly, to reinforce and strengthen my willingness to trust God’s optimum lifeskills. _______ (Check this.)

When we walk with the Lord, in the light of his word,

What a glory He sheds on our way.

When we do His good will He abides with us still,

And with all who will trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there is no other way,

To be happy in Jesus, But to trust and obey.

THAT’S ALL FOR NOW FOLKS!

LIFESKILLS TRAINING CENTER \| Home \| Ch.1. LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF \| Christians believe in JOY and CHEERFULNESS \| Christians keep trying to be peaceful - Ch 3 in Lifeskills \| Christians keep trying to be PATIENCE and TOLERANT \| Random acts of kindness \| Christians believe in the generosity virtue \| Christians seek to be trusted persons \| Gentleness is a universal value \| Self control is a universal virtue
Click on arrows to read and print out chapters.	Christians seek to be trusted persons No. 7 Fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23 In the book LIFESKILLS 101: Higher Core Values Winners Live By Faith and trust are the same word in the Greek language. THE BIBLE AND SCIENCE Let us connect the Biblical word "faith" with one of the social sciences’ favorite term, “trust.” Greek word is pistis. The King James translation of Galatians 5:23 uses the word “faith.” The But sometimes pistis is translated with the English word “trust.” The Living Bible frequently uses the word “trust” instead of “faith (King James),” or “faithfulness (RSV), or “fidelity” (Moffatt, Phillips), or “loyalty” (Barclay).” In the Living Bible pistis is translated into “trust” in Romans 3:2, 3:22, 3:31, 4:13, 4:20, 10:8, I Cor 15:14, I Cor 15:17, I Timothy 1:14, 2:15, 3:13, 6:11, II Timothy 1:5, 3:15, etc. There are at least a dozen places where the Living Bible uses the word “trust” where other translations use “faith” or “faithfulness.” The Old Testament uses other words for “trust.”; aman, batach, or chasah. These words are mostly translated into the English word “trust.” There are nearly 75 Old Testament expressions of faith, where the English word “trust” is used. With this in mind, it is appropriate to use both the words “faith” and “trust” when describing this 7th Fruit of the Spirit. God is our model. God exemplifies faith and trust. God turned his people loose. He has faith in them to do the job for him. God trusts us with the church, his body. God has faith and trust, like parents have faith and trust. They instruct and allow autonomy to learn. Parents, like God, accept a certain amount of their children’s undesirable behavior, while children grow up. Parents, like God, sense their children need some autonomy to become independent. A parent who exercises faith and trust, rather than harping and excessive control, gains respect. God does it that way too. Faith and trust become core concepts, both in the Bible and in the personality sciences. Benefits of faith and trust P ersons who filled out an 896 question data-gathering instrument have demonstrated statistically that there are numerous benefits from having an above average level of faith and trust. Faith (trust) is something that may be influenced by sickness, conflict at work, demands at home, etc., but it’s deeper. Faithfulness is part of a person’s belief system that prevents or overrides sickness, conflict, demands at home, etc. This research finds absenteeism is also a belief problem. For example, higher absenteeism is associated with lower levels of faithfulness. Just how that occurs and what pathways it takes is not part of this research. In general, the conclusion is that one may quite likely lower his/her absenteeism rate by several behaviors, including a stronger commitment to elevating FAITH-(fulness), the No. 7 Fruit of the Spirit. Faith and trust in science and Christianity Major personality scientists have previously explored “trust” (Gordon Allport, Milton Rokeach, etc.) and other personality factors that contribute to personal well-being. When this research was organized, 342 personality factors of 39 major published personality tests were synthesized around the Fruit(s) of the Spirit of Galatians 5:22-23. Specifically, 13 of those 342 personality factors fit close to the concept of “faithfulness” and “trust.” There was a close correlation between the concepts that are found in the Bible and those concepts found in 39 major personality scientists from 39 major universities. The statistics in this chapter are the result of that overlay of basic optimum lifeskills, as transmitted by the Apostle Paul and the personality scientists. Faith and trust generate the same in others. When you have faith in yourself, your position, your associations, your goals and your performance, you exhibit trust. It is an ideal state of being. The Apostle Paul said that was true. Our instincts tell us that is true. A person may not have superior trust behavior all the time. That is OK. People who have this kind of faith and trust in others, generate an image that they are also trustworthy. There is a reciprocal relation between having faith/trust, giving faith/trust and receiving the faith/trust from others. The model of this is God. His exercise of faith and trust in us produces an atmosphere where we can reciprocate and place our faith and trust in him. God may be disappointed in us, but, like a parent, has little inclination to abandon those He has spent time helping, the ones who now trust him. Having faith and generating faith in others is a very high quality. Likewise, having trust and generating trustworthiness is a quality quite rare in its highest form. Faith and trust counteract, deter, and neutralize low self-esteem. Erik Erikson, Ph.D. (1902-1970), born in Frankfort Germany to Swedish parents, contributed a great deal to the social sciences in the past. Erik Erikson called the world’s attention to the deep need for trust. He had a simple stair-step formula that displayed seven stages of development; 1. trust, 2. autonomy, 3. initiative, 4. industry, 5. identity, 6. intimacy, 7. generativity, and 8. ego identity. These eight steps lead upward to maturity. Erikson showed us that sufficient trust in the early stages lead step-by-step to “ego identity” (maturity). In parallel Erikson set forth 8 steps that lead to depression and “despair.” Those 8 downward spiraling steps were, mistrust, doubt, guilt, inferiority, role confusion, isolation, stagnation and despair. Without sufficient “trust” in the first stage, the second stage “autonomy” is contaminated by a proportion of “shame” or “doubt.” Excessive mistrust tends to decrease functionality and cause the downward spiral toward “despair.” Without adequate trust people take more of the downward spiraling 8 steps than the upward-marching 8 steps. Depression and despair are at the bottom (in varying degrees). Eight graphs on the next pages will demonstrate Erikson’s understanding. The graphs are taken from the data gathered in the research. The data was not gathered around Erikson’s 8 stages. The data was collected around three personality inventories created by the author, with personal history and personal questions added. THE KEY THEME OF THIS MATERIAL Persons who profess a belief in Jesus Christ trust God’s Holy Spirit to work in their souls (psyche) and bring about elevated levels of Fruit(s) of the Spirit. Higher levels of Fruit(s) of the Spirit do not always occur automatically as a result of faith. Believers know they need to learn how to translate the best beliefs into the best behaviors, in order to obtain the most optimum outcome for health, happiness and well-being. BEFORE WE GO FURTHER, IT MAY BE HELPFUL TO KNOW WHAT LEVEL OF “FAITH-FULNESS”, TRUST WE LIVE AT. HIGH “FAITH, FAITHFULNESS” (in the form of TRUST) IS AT THE TOP, BUT BEING INSECURE, AND BEING JEALOUS IS AT THE LOWEST END OF THE SPECTRUM. TO FIND OUT WHERE WE STAND BETWEEN THE CHARACTERISTICS OF “FAITH-FULNESS” AND THE CHARACTERISTICS OF INSECURITY – JEALOUSY, EACH OF YOU IS BEING OFFERED A TEST TO SEE WHERE YOU ARE IN THAT SPECTRUM. HERE IS THAT TEST. PART 1 LET US MEASURE HOW STRONG OUR TRUST IS. Pick out the most appropriate response. Write the number of that response in the space provided by that statement. 0=Never, 1=Rarely, 2=Occasionally, 3=Sometimes, 4=Frequently, 5=Almost always 61. I am a trusting person. 62. My confidence eliminates jealous feelings. 63. I am able to put jealous feelings to rest. 64. In time of trials, I keep my faith and confidence. 65. I trust my spouse and/or friends to be faithful to me. 66. I have faith in myself and in others. 67. I refrain from suspicious-like questioning. 68. I put suspicions away until I have facts. 69. I refrain from accusations until I know the truth. 70. I let people make their own decisions without my help. TOTAL (Segment No. 7 of Darrell Franken’s Christian Personality Profile.) (Copy this page for class members, or project this set of questions on a screen, and let the class members have a sheet of paper to answer these questions. Keep your answers to yourself.) (Please remember that the questions focus on behaviors common to both Christians and non-Christians. These questions seek to determine general distrust levels in all persons. Christians who live a Godly life will presumably have higher scores. The presence of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit should translate into higher-level TRUST. CONVERSION OF RAW SCORES TO PERCENTILES Find your raw score in the left column, and the score next to it will be your percentile score. The percentile is your score in relation to a cross section of the general population. (Raw=%) 1=1 11=1 21=5 31=20 41=65 2=1 12=1 22=6 32=23 42=70 3=1 13=1 23=7 33=25 43=75 4=1 14=1 24=8 34=27 44=80 5=1 15=1 25=9 35=30 45=85 6=1 16=1 26=10 36=37 46=90 7=1 17=1 27=12 37=44 47=95 8=1 18=2 28=14 38=50 48=97 9=1 19=3 29=16 39=55 49=98 10=1 20=4 30=18 40=60 50=99 (Example: If your raw score is 43, then your percentile score is 75, which means that only 25 out of 100 persons are more “trusting” than you - plus or minus about 5% points.) Your percentile score is not a measurement of your TRUST in God, in Jesus Christ, or in forgiveness, etc. It is more of a measurement of your behaviors that come out of your spirit. Spirituality precedes “Fruit(s) of the Spirit,” according to Galatians 5:22-23. Fruit(s) come from the tree of Christian spirituality. This inventory is more like a measurement of one’s success in translating God’s salvation through Jesus Christ into more mature levels of behavior. TRUST is one of those factors that God rewards in a variety of ways. We saw some of those benefits in God’s promises and in the lines of the charts. THE ERIKSON MODEL AND TRUST TRUST ENHANCES POSITIVE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT. LACK OF ABILITY TO TRUST TRIGGERS DETERIORATION PROCESSES. Erik Erikson wrote the book on the life of Martin Luther, called, Young Man Luther, showing the various stages in Martin Luther’s life. Erikson saw an analogous relationship between the developmental stages of the human biological system and the human psychological system. There is no direct connection between the two. When looking at the diagrams think in terms of stages, like percentages, not all-or-none. 1. IN THE ERIKSON MODEL TRUST IS A BASIC INGREDIENT THAT ENHANCES LIFE FROM INFANCY TO THE MATURITY. With this model a person can understand spiritual progress better. If TRUST is achieved adequately, people move up. If not, they start downward. You can get an idea of how “inferiority” feelings (Down, No. 4) develop, but also the route to rebuild them. The model gives us some clues about where “despair” (Down, No. 8) comes from, and perhaps some clues about how we might work our way back to “integrity” (Top No. 8), where we feel we have it all put back together again. This is a flexible model that must be understood in general terms. The Christian model offers the view that a person can speed up or alter the course of psychological development through Christian faith and spirituality. CORRELATION BETWEEN A SOCIOLOGICAL MODEL AND A CHRISTIAN MODEL The interesting thing about both the Erikson model and the Christian model, is that both are based on TRUST. Trust is one of the central feature in Christianity. In Christianity TRUST in God, in Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit enables a person to be “saved from the lust and rottenness that is all around us” (II Peter 1:4 LB). TRUST saves us from all 7 downward deteriorating behaviors in Erikson’s list. The Erikson model puts the focus more on self-TRUST, while Christianity puts the focus more on TRUST in Jesus Christ. After nearly 100 years of scientific research in the social sciences, it has become obvious to many Christians that revealed truth (Biblical) regarding optimum lifeskills is not antithetical or at war with scientifically derived truth. I have published two books on stress management. I first wrote a secular book outlining 15 major stress factors and called it Health through Stress Reduction. While I was writing this book, I sensed that I could offer much of the same advice from a Biblical point of view. The second book covers Stress Management from the point of view of being a Christian. I called this book Healing Help through Stress Management. Combined, they make a good Adult Christian Education course. The participants studying Stress Management can see it from both a Christian and a secular point of view. To see the correlations between religious truth and secular truth one may simply visit a Christian book store. Self-help books written by Christians offer treasured information that combines Biblical information with information from the social sciences. Christian writers are focusing on Assertiveness Training, anxiety reduction, etc. These topics basically come through the social sciences. Throughout this Christian LifeSkills study/discussion course you see connections, associations and parallels between the secular and the religious. CHRISTIAN TRUST IS MORE GOD-ORIENTED In Christianity there is a strong emphasis in placing one’s TRUST in God. Both the Erikson model and the Christian model start with TRUST. Where the Erikson model displays how one might gain more TRUST in self, the Christian faith promotes TRUST in God. The desired end product is much the same, an optimally functioning person. The means to the end is different: more use of God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. The skills that assist are different. The Erikson model suggests you arrive at optimum lifeskills by leaning on mostly human assistance. Christianity suggests you arrive at optimum lifeskills via more divine assistance. Christianity combines divine and human (the church) assistance. Here is a Biblical statement that shows where Christians put their TRUST. “When I am afraid I put my TRUST in thee” (Psalm 56:3). 2. THE ERIKSON MODEL SUGGESTS THE IMPORTANCE OF TRUST FOR MAKING A FAIRLY COMPLETE EMOTIONAL STEP TO AUTONOMY. In the above stair-step developmental model autonomy grows to the optimum percentage possible. That percentage of the optimum level is largely established by the degree of trust achieved at the first level. Erikson based this on the fact that emotionally dysfunctional children usually come out of overly abusive parenting, insufficient Positive Strokes in the home, inadequate peer support in school, etc. Whatever the number of factors, the early environment had a harsh effect on the development of the child. Trust is weakened. But the model also indicates that people may experience harsh treatment later in life. Painful experiences can weaken trust in a person. That is why regular worship is necessary. Regular worship revitalizes trust. DESTROYING LOVE AND TRUST Unfortunately, the way to wreck the faith (pistis) and trust (pistis) machinery in a child is to yell a lot, criticize a lot, leave the child alone a lot, avoid touching and hugging, and keep the child away from other children. Make promises that you do not keep. Create as many disappointments in the child as you can. This behavior will ensure that the child is quite emotionally crippled. The likelihood is that such a child will never be able to “trust” God either. KEEPING IT ALIVE TRUST, like many skills, needs to be practiced. If you don’t TRUST your multiplication memory of 6 times 6 equaling 36, you need to practice it. Perhaps you need to make some mental associations to remember. TRUSTING yourself may also require that you make conscious comparisons to stay anchored in your self-trust. Compare what you think with authorities, like God and in His Word. Adult Christian Education tends to help persons with their ability to TRUST n a wide variety of situations. TRUST ENHANCES AUTONOMY. WE LEARN TO TRUST SELF AND OTHERS FROM OUR TRUST IN GOD. THAT GIVES US MORE FREEDOM AND AUTONOMY TO RUN OUR LIVES PROPERLY. In the 1900's many children were brought up in orphanages. One psychologist was concerned. He believed that these orphan children were not getting enough love, holding, touching, interacting and play with an adult. He proposed an experiment supervised by the University of Chicago psychology department. He obtained permission to put half of the children in a “home for feeble minded.” That is what they called those places that took care of adults who had not developed mentally like most people. Even though these adults were what people called, “retarded,” they had lots of love to give. The theory was that these very loving adults would take care of half the infants until they grew up, while the other half were taken care of in the orphanage. This was a scientific experiment and therefore many observations were recorded. Over time the children in the “home for feeble minded women” showed many signs of improved development, more than the orphans. The researchers concluded that the love and attention from “feeble minded” caretakers increased the children’s Intelligence. Twenty five years later a different set of researchers did a follow up. They discovered that the children who lived with the love, trust, care and attention from the mentally retarded care-takers, had paid Income taxes roughly equivalent to the amount of money the orphanaged children were still costing society. DISCUSS YOUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS? When our love and trust is empowered by God, from outside us, like the orphan children who were loved and trusted, we become more functional and more comfortable, possibly even more productive. Right? Possibly? No? ------- “In God have I put my trust; I will not be afraid of what man can do to me.” (Psalm 56:11 KJ) 3. THE NEXT STEP UP IN EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT IS TAKING INITIATIVE. In Developmental Stage Step No. 3 the figure above demonstrates the ability to take responsibility, which is taking initiative. Here and there we see a worker who can’t take initiative. That person will wait until s/he is told what to do. That may be OK for the first day or two, but soon the person should be able to sense what is needed next and proceed. Such a person may not have achieved the optimum level of “trust” in some stage of life. Having been cheated out of “trust” and not having made sufficient advances in “autonomy,” the person remains passive. The Erikson model is basically universal. Time Magazine showed that. Time reports that singer Janet Jackson “has been steadily issuing updated versions of herself over the years” (October 20, 1997). The article indicates that Janet’s recording albums show her first, “tentative” (slight self-mistrust), then she “asserted her identity” (Step 5), and more recently she “began to address social issues” (Step 8, “integrity” — creativity). Naturally, as she gets more experience and as the positive feedback grows, her TRUST in herself will grow. The Time Magazine article did not include Erikson’s stages, but Time shows that the Erikson model is common to our understanding The lesson from this is quite simple. When a person does not feel a lot of self-trust, the tendency is to pull back, withdraw, be shy, inhibited, and fearful. TRUST grows when a person learns truthful information and gets positive feedback. Also TRUST grows when a person engages God to empower the soul (psyche) to believe and function with borrowed power from God. DISCUSS YOUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS? What is the fastest way to regain one’s ability to “trust” (others and self) if most of your life you have been pulling back, withdrawing, being shy, being inhibited and being fearful? TRUST INCREASES INITIATIVE One’s personal inner ability to trust is linked to “initiative.” One of the factors in the 896 data collection instrument dealt with ego strength and its ability to take initative. In psychology the ego is the integrating factor between what we ought to do and what we want to do. The marked line above is a measurement of the ego’s ability to manage oneself well. According to the chart a person’s “initiative” and “trust” go hand in hand with each other. The courage one needs to take INITIATIVE comes partly from some accumulation of one’s ability to TRUST. TRUST is a fundamental to INITIATIVE. And when a person takes INITIATIVE, it is somewhat in proportion to the first two stages, trust and autonomy. Notice in the chart that trust runs parallel to initiative. Lower trust is related to lower initiative. Higher trust is related to higher initiative. One’s ability to trust God and Jesus Christ enhances one’s inner (ego) strength, and one’s ability to take initiative. Therefore, faith and trust makes one a better employee. Trust in God helps formulate trust-grooves (habits) in our brains. Both the social sciences and the Bible support the idea that a person with a habit of “trust” is functioning more optimally. Christian TRUST in God increases our TRUST in ourselves. One of God’s promises indicates this. “Blessed (benefitted) is the person who makes the Lord his/her trust” (Psalm 40:4 KJ). Another expression of this is found in Psalm 84:12 KJ. “Blessed (benefitted) is the person who trusts in the Lord” (Psalm 84:12). Winners trust more. Josh McDowell, working for Campus Crusade, believes that young people have difficulty seeing the connection between faith and self-trust. He says, “Even Christian kids don’t believe in a Truth greater than themselves. They believe God exists, maybe, but they don’t relate to a universal set of values set by God” (Dallas Morning News. October, 1997). 4. STEP FOUR IS INDUSTRY VERSUS INFERIORITY. INDUSTRY (or industriousness), according to the Erikson model is affected by how well a person has mastered the development of the preceding three steps. INDUSTRIOUSNESS in the Erikson model is opposite of INFERIORITY. The ability to be INDUSTRIOUS is probably influenced by more factors that the amount of trust or initiative a person has been able to receive and generate. INFERIORITY would be the result of some inadequate development in the area of those three prior stages. Inferiority feelings, or low self-worth, or low self-esteem refer to generally the same problem in people. Industries, factories or businesses often fail because they do not hire persons who function at higher levels of values. I was a consultant to a person doing Stress Management when a local industrial plant was being shut down in our city. The Stress Management counselor used some of the same data collection instruments that the author used for this research. When these inventories were submitted to my computer processing, the average scores for spiritual “values” was considerably lower than the average in the previously-collected computer’s data base. The only conclusion that could be made was that this plant which was being closed, had too many employees with lower-level spiritual values. It was strange to see this plant being closed in our city, when we have one of the most favorably growing economies in the United States. The Personnel Manager acknowledged that he gave jobs to people who had difficulty holding on to jobs. The official, present at the time of the report, was fascinated by what was disclosed. Yet, the plant went out of production. The employees did not have sufficiently high “industriousness” to make the plant operate at a profit. DISCUSS YOUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS? As an employee, do you think you are raising the general average of “industriousness” or are you lowering the general average of “industriousness?” TRUST AND INDUSTRIOUSNESS ARE ASSOCIATED. INCREASING LEVELS OF TRUST ARE ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASING LEVELS OF ASSERTIVENESS. The chart shows that there is a correlation between people’s capacity to TRUST and be more INDUSTRIOUS, or hard working, assertive, taking initiative; the traits that make a profitable business. Let’s make it simple. Laziness is the opposite of industriousness. A factory or business can’t afford to have too many lazy person as employees. You know that. Employees are more valuable when they work faster, harder and smarter. But, according to the Erikson model, this ability to work faster, harder and smarter (industriousness) is built on TRUST, AUTONOMY, and INITIATIVE. Those are found in Stages 1, 2 and 3. Persons, therefore, who have built “trust” grooves in their brains and behavior have a head start at becoming INDUSTRIOUS, the characteristic most in demand in workers. Generally, employees with the greatest amount of trust in themselves , autonomy (self-rule) and initiative, become the first ones to become the team leaders, the managers and the superintendents. They get noticed and they get rewarded. That is what is promised by God. Here is the promise of benefits for that TRUST (Psalm 37:9 LB). “Those who TRUST in the Lord shall be given every blessing (benefit)” Persons without adequate TRUST are often trapped in their poverty. “The Lord shall be your confidence and shall keep thy foot from being caught (trapped)” (Proverbs 3:26 KJ). DISCUSS YOUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS? How convinced are you that your connection with God can help bring you up to optimum levels of TRUST and INITIATIVE and their benefits? 5. IDENTITY CLARITY VERSUS IDENTITY CONFUSION. Your identity (Stage 6) is how you view yourself. Who am I? What are my talents? What do I want to do with my life? Will I succeed or fail if I choose this occupation? Do the guys/girls like me? Can I get girls/guys to date me? Your identity, your view of yourself, has the power to propel you forward if it is more positive than negative. And if you perceive yourself more inferior, that can hold you back. Christianity offers a system that helps you keep your eye on your potential, with God’s help. Christianity offers you an ideal to keep you improving, rather than a self-perception that is a drag on your life. In this both the Erikson model and the Christian model agree. The problem is that sometimes we hold on to what we think we are, or what we would like to be, but don’t know the potential of ourselves. That creates a large identity confusion. Sometimes this prevents us from making the next step into intimacy, or marriage (See Stage 6 above). Many persons are fearful of making a commitment to marry. They have an identity struggle, perhaps coupled with fear and ignorance of how to keep a marriage together. When a person wants a clear sense of IDENTITY, the person is really wanting to know how God sees himself or herself. Because, ultimately, God knows a person’s talents and gifts best. Therefore, to get in touch with God is important. To resolve your IDENTITY, deal with God in such a way that you are open to the truth about your real self. Let God guide you in selecting a job, a marriage partner, a church, a friend, etc. God has promised to help us when we meditate on Him, pray to Him, associate with fellow believers, etc. DISCUSS YOUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS? Christianity is an identity replacement program. It helps you dump your irrational and imaginary views of yourself, and enables you to do the things God intended for you to do. YOUR FAITH BECOMES YOUR IDENTITY THE CHART SHOWS A PARALLEL BETWEEN FRUIT(S) OF THE SPIRIT, TRUST, AND THE ERIKSON CONCEPT OF SELF-CONFIDENCE. The author used the data on Fruit of the Spirit No. 7, “faith/trust” and data for SELF-CONFIDENCE to make the chart above. Science and Christianity support each other. How does trust in God improve performance in each stage of trust: 2. autonomy , 3. initiative, 4. industry, 5. identity? The Erikson model was good for earlier psychotherapy. The psychotherapist was the person to provide the support and guidance to expand each of the 8 Stages. In the Christian model, God in Jesus Christ provides the support and guidance through the Holy Spirit and the church to expand each of the 8 Stages. Stage Step No. 5 is IDENTITY. Specifically to this step, when a person finds himself or herself puzzled about what to do in the job world, or in other situations, the Christian additionally looks to the person of Jesus Christ. After taking all the aptitude tests, and studying some of the manuals which describe 20,000 jobs, the person needs to examine the passions of one’s psyche (soul). The person who is connected with God in one’s psyche (soul) needs to listen to the optimum lifestyle passions of the psyche (soul). “He that cometh to God must believe that he is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6 KJ). “Trust in the Lord and do good. . . He will vindicate you” (Psalm 37:3 KJ). DISCUSS YOUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS? Talk about how “trust or faith” in God helps persons through identity struggles. 6. INTIMACY VERSUS ISOLATION STAGE. INTIMACY is one’s ability to have a deep and meaningful relationship. One’s level of INTIMACY is associated with the strength of one’s ability to TRUST. The Erikson model shows INTIMACY developing better when a person has matured sufficiently in Steps 1-5. Here is an example. Male individuals are more apt to be ready for marriage when they have a job. Having a job suggests that the young man/woman has thought through what occupation is most suitable for him/her. In this small illustration the young man has solved some of the identity questions about what his talents are, what he’d like to do, etc. Role Confusion has been dealt with and partly solved, at least for now. Then such a person is more ready for emotional intimacy. BLOCKAGES TO INTIMACY Inadequate INTIMACY does not all trace back to infancy and childhood. A mis-match in a previous marriage may leave one fearful to enter another INTIMACY. The death of a significant-other may block INTIMACY. It could be temporary. Sometimes the trauma is large enough to be long-lasting. Other blockages could exist. The amount, or size, or percentage of maximum INTIMACY may change. Circumstances, experiences and growth patterns can be accelerated or stunted. The same is true each of Erickson’s Stages. Many persons are living together without legalized marriage. Some of those relationships have good amounts of INTIMACY. Others, perhaps not. The numbers of persons living together without a legal contract may be an indication of a number of things, including deficiencies along Stages 1 through 5. DISCUSS YOUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS? In a sense, a committed Christian should probably be more capable of a deeper or stronger intimacy with his or her partner. In what way may this be true or not true? FAITH AND TRUST INCREASES INTIMACY The chart shows how Fruit of the Spirit, No. 7, TRUST, functions in proportionate relationship with COMMUNICATION, and the intimacy derived from that. The research shows a correlation between peoples’ TRUST scores and COMMUNICATION scores. The author’s COMMUNICATION questions looked at how willing people were to share deeper feelings. The chart shows some support for Erikson’s model, while also giving the Christian faith some scientific credibility. THE CHRISTIAN MODEL. In the Christian faith solutions to STAGE deficiencies are obtained by establishing a connection of TRUST in God. One finds support for the psyche (soul) by connecting with God through Jesus Christ and his church. The promises of God are like Positive Strokes to the psyche (soul). The supports of worship, preaching, singing, and greeting fellow Christians are nourishment for the psyche (soul). Remember, a nourished emotional system (psyche, soul) grows in TRUST. A person upgrades deficiencies in TRUST among people who focus on God’s optimum lifeskills. God’s system, through the church, enables you to walk up those 8 steps (Stages) with a lot more confidence, resulting in less life-long stress, and higher level health and well-being. “Do not be lazy but imitate those who through faith (Greek pistis=trust) and patience, inherit the promises” (Hebrews 6:12). 7. GENERATIVITY FLOWS IN PROPORTION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PREVIOUS 6 STAGES. Generativity is a lot like creativity. Generativity is putting inner qualities and strengths together to elevate yourself and upgrade the human race. The artist, the inventor, the poet, the writer and the teacher have probably achieved GENERATIVITY more than most. When a person weaves through the misery and triumphs in this world, the person walks up and down these steps a lot. But ultimately each individual tries most of the time to be a better person. Of course, some never do. Their inner TRUST is mostly destroyed. They only minimally get to Stages 2, 3, or 4 through 8. STEPHEN COVEY — ILLUSTRATES OPTIMUM PRODUCTIVITY Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, is the world’s most renowned leader on Personal Leadership. Mr. Covey conducts seminars and speaks in seminars, largely in industry. He says, “Renewing the spiritual dimension provides leadership to your life. The spiritual dimension is your core, your center, your commitment to your value system. It’s a very private area of life and a supremely important one. It draws upon the sources that inspire and uplift you and tie you to the timeless truths of all humanity. . . I find renewal in daily prayerful meditation on the scriptures because they represent my value system. As I read and meditate I feel renewed, strengthened, centered and recommitted to serve. . . Education -- continually honing and expanding the mind — is vital mental renewal. . . Renewal is the principle — and the process — that empowers us to move on an upward spiral of growth and change, of continuous improvement” (p. 292 ff). GENERATIVITY AS MORE COMPLETE WELL-BEING . The author did not have a comparison chart for TRUST and GENERATIVITY. Instead, the author offers a comparison between TRUST and a health well-being indicator, namely “counseling.” Erikson created his 8 Stage model for psychotherapists. He believed that people’s problems often started with a lack of TRUST and several resulting deficiencies in “stages.” Notice that the graph partially supports Erikson’s idea. The smaller the amount of TRUST (left end of bottom-solid line) people have, the larger the amount of counseling sessions needed (top bar). Counseling is lowest for persons in the top one-third of higher scoring TRUST (right end of marked-upper line). GENERATIVITY VERSUS STAGNATION For Erikson, with every STAGE-step up, there is an equal possibility for a step down. Depression is next to the bottom of Erikson’s contrasting step-up and step-down model. Once a person suffers from mis-TRUST there is increased probability of having more personal trouble. Likewise, in reverse, persons generally have fewer troubles if the TRUST level goes up instead of down. It would be surprising if you disregarded this fundamental sociological principle as well as the following Divinely ordained wisdom! “Those who TRUST in the Lord are like Mt. Zion which cannot be moved but abides forever” (Psalm 125:1 KJ). DISCUSS YOUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS? Both Erikson and this Christian research quite strongly agree that TRUST is important? Erikson’s “trust” is more “self-trust.” Yet, can you see the research process helping to substantiate or corroborate divine revelation? 8. INTEGRITY VERSUS DESPAIR INTEGRITY is the result of commitment to higher standards. INTEGRITY is mastery of self over one’s surroundings. INTEGRITY is the expression of the psyche (soul) in creativity. INTEGRITY for Erikson was the highest form of human functioning. There was no thought that anyone would have 100 percent of it. To have higher proportions of INTEGRITY was good. TO FINALLY ARRIVE AT INTEGRITY THE PERSON NEEDS TO: A. PLOT A WISE COURSE THAT MAXIMIZES EACH STEP ALONG THE WAY. INTEGRITY GENERATIVITY — > INTIMACY — > IDENTITY — > INDUSTRY — > INITIATIVE — > AUTONOMY — > TRUST — > B. AVOID THE DETERIORATING EFFECT OF ACCUMULATIONS OF: MISTRUST — > SHAME, DOUBT — > GUILT — > INFERIORITY — > ROLE CONFUSION — > ISOLATION — > STAGNATION — > DESPAIR — > FAITH – TRUST AND OPTIMUM LIVING We are studying the 9 Fruit(s) of the Spirit, shown in the chart above. This chart is more like a picture. It is a picture of TRUST growing into optimum INTEGRITY, with the help of spiritual Fruit(s) like those in Galatians 5:22-23, (pictured above). Reggie White, football player for the NFL champion Green Bay Packers, is a Christian. He is 6' 5" tall and weighs 290 pounds. He is clocked at 4.69 seconds for the 40 yard dash. His size and his speed are his assets in football. His faith has made him almost more famous than his football. He says, “There are some people who say Christianity is for Whimps, but they can say what they want. As far as I am concerned being a Christian makes you more of a man. Studying God’s Word helped keep my life on track, even though there were bad influences like drugs and crime all around me. . . People are missing out when they do not read God’s Word.” Reggie helped start URBAN HOPE in Wisconsin. This organization will “teach people how to start small businesses, then provide micro loans and business-planning assistance to help them succeed.” This 11 time All-Pro says God has laid it on his heart to have an impact on helping hurting people. DISCUSS YOUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS? Talk about or write about your next plan to upgrade your integrity, like Reggie White. Which Stage do you need to work on first, second, third, etc. PART 2 UNDERSTANDING AND UPGRADING TRUST THIS IS YOU: — BODY — MIND — SPIRIT — PSYCHE Whether one approaches optimum LifeSkills from a Biblical perspective or from a study of the social sciences, the person ultimately looks for the core issues. The Bible comes to this core with a strong recommendation that we look to the soul, sometimes also referred to as the “heart” of a person. Biblically, the soul is the core of a human being. The soul is the essence of a human. There are Biblical propositions that apply to correcting the inner core of a human being, his or her soul. Biblical solutions expressly state the need for a divinely transformed soul. The social sciences are not as willing to apply their learning to promote optimum lifestyle values, or the LifeSkills to create them. The social sciences have been researching behavior traits for the past one hundred or more years. They have been searching for optimum lifeskills by examining the behaviors that produce problems. More recently there has been an emphasis on values as determinants of behavior. Generally speaking, the world of the social sciences has not yet gotten around to accepting a standard set of values, hierarchically arranged from problematic to optimally good. This gets too close to making the social sciences into a new system that sounds like a religion. However, each of the Biblical and social science fields is strengthened by its common understanding of core ingredients for living. CULTURAL EXPECTATIONS The figure above points to a key issue. The animal on the left has no psyche (soul). There is a major difference between it and a person. There are unknown levels of development between the animal and the person. Yet certain behavior is obviously more human/divine than animalistic. Our culture uses very little effort in cautioning people against the pitfalls of acting as if we had no psyche, no soul. There are some vague and powerful cultural guidelines in our society that inhibit us from teaching courses on how to live by optimum standards. Our television culture almost honors the behaviors of the least beneficial behaviors. Our cultural expectations ask us not to identify and promote optimum lifeskills. That might be embarrassing to too many people. Our social science culture is fearful. Optimum lifeskills and lifeskills sounds too much like telling people how to live. The problem is severe. The Apostle Paul described it: “Although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles. Therefore, God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to dishonoring their bodies among themselves” (Romans 1:21-24 RSV). The Bible says that about people who do not want to TRUST God’s optimum lifeskills. The social scientists see these people in jails, drug rehabilitation units and in clinics. DISCUSS YOUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS? Talk about, or write about the good things you, your church, or another group does to raise people’s level of improvement as in Erikson’s Stages. WITH A DEGENERATED SOUL PEOPLE WOULD FUNCTION MOSTLY LIKE THIS. Two core parts of a human being are missing in the figure above. Two feet are added to symbolize what happens when a human being does not value SPIRIT and PSYCHE (soul). It appears that some persons are avoiding contact with a good many optimum values and with the deep conscience of their souls. Even though both the Bible and the social sciences agree that SPIRIT and PSYCHE (soul) are core dimensions, people really do not know how to relate to SPIRIT and PSYCHE. Who talks to youth about SPIRITUAL VALUES and reasons to nurture the SOUL? Who talks to them so that they avoid a regression to lifeskills of our pre-historic grandparents? Who educates others about the statistical advantages of one lifestyle or LifeSkill over another? It is time for the church to cross over and talk about the SPIRIT of humans, and which universal optimum VALUES are more beneficial. The job of Christians in the world is to increase spirituality, but the church has understood SPIRIT to mean Holy Spirit, Spirit of God, Spirit of Jesus. Well, that is OK, but the world then thinks it is prohibited from talking about anything “spiritual” unless they join the church. The net consequence is that the world has difficulty talking about optimum spiritual values. The world is backing off from most discussions of optimally helpful universal values. They think they are talking religious-talk when they are asked to talk about optimum spiritual values. The world delights in kicking the church for having optimum spiritual values. This book, these charts, and the linkage between the Bible and the social sciences can give the church and the world some confidence in selling the world on optimum spiritual values that deliver a larger number of benefits. The church can take the lessons from the research and application of this book to sell the world on the idea that there are optimum spiritual values that deliver benefits. Christians are not simply called to “save souls” but to change the moral order of the world through “saving souls” and teaching them how to aspire to and access the benefits of higher levels of spiritual values. SOCIETY NEEDS TO TEACH OPTIMUM VALUES AND SKILLS. Every spiritual value being promoted in this book is considered a universal value by Biblical and scientific evidence. God’s Fruit(s) of the Spirit have been shown to deliver beneficial results. Christians generally believe in them as universal. Social scientists would probably not (until they have read this book!). Most social scientists would probably acknowledge the optimum validity of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness (trust), gentleness (assertive) and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23) upon reading this book and the Statistical Manual (the ground work for this book) that shows the scientific approach taken. The social sciences have been investigating values, traits, behaviors and their theories for over 100 years. In the past half century more than 500 personality tests have been published, many seeking to discover which valued behavior is more destructive, and which valued behavior is more helpful. The truth of the existence of optimum and universal values has been shown. May it not rest in peace. MY COMMITMENT TO INCREASE MY FAITH/TRUST EXAMPLES 1. As is true with all the Fruit(s) of the Spirit, I know that I need God’s assistance to increase my faith and trust. I also need the church, but I may also need to attend special “Institutes” and “Seminars” to increase my faith and trust higher than the average. 2. I will begin to call pastors of several churches to find out where there is a special event to upgrade my faith and trust. Here is my list of churches to call. a. ______________________ b. _______________________ c. ______________________ d. _______________________ 3. As Erik Erikson and the Bible agree that extremely negative experiences can weaken and harm our ability to trust, they agree that love helps rebuild that bridge to mental health. As I deal with my family, I need to find a system that fosters more love. I need to: a. increase my reading of Biblical persons with faith. Fill my mind with New Testament truth _______ (Check this.) b. reward my children for every act of volunteering ______ (Check this.) c. find some penalty and reward system that helps all of us grow increase self esteem, the basis for stronger trust _______ (Check this.) 4. I will make a large chart of Erikson’s steps to help remind me of the importance of having my own heart filled with God’s love as seen in Jesus Christ. 5. I will sing the song “Trust and Obey” repeatedly, to reinforce and strengthen my willingness to trust God’s optimum lifeskills. _______ (Check this.) When we walk with the Lord, in the light of his word, What a glory He sheds on our way. When we do His good will He abides with us still, And with all who will trust and obey. Trust and obey, for there is no other way, To be happy in Jesus, But to trust and obey. THAT’S ALL FOR NOW FOLKS!	This book may be purchased ------- Click on this pircure to pay through PayPal, a secure server.