The field of social psychology deals with the ways people relate to others in social situations - why we act the way we do, why some folks fail and others succeed, where our fears come from and how they affect us, and so forth.

The University of Virginia's Dr. Timothy D.Wilson is one of the leading researchers in this field, and in a brief article in Edge.org (6/7/11) he outlines the approach and benefits of using social psychology in helping people to enjoy better lives.

In essence, what social psychologists do is try to get into people's heads and understand their perspective on themselves and the world - the "narrative" or "story" that defines their overall outlook on life - and then to suggest subtle changes in that story line which can bring signficant improvement to people's lives.

Dr. Wilson explains concerning social psychology, "One of the basic assumptions of the field is that it's not the objective environment that influences people, but their constructs of the world." People, it seems, keep a story line going in their minds, a way of understanding themselves and the world that seems right to them, and this story line then defines their expectations and daily performance.

The problem, Dr. Wilson explains, "is that these stories go wrong. People end up with narratives that  are dysfunctional in some way." So what the social psychologist tries to do is suggest a different way of thinking about their lives, and then help people begin to live that new story accordingly.

It all comes down to worldview, you see.

"You are wrong" - you have the wrong story line going in your mind - "because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God" (Matt. 22.29). Jesus, you see, knew all about social psychology, story lines, and worldviews, as well as how these can lead people into various forms of misery.

That's why He came proclaiming and embodying a new story, the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is a big story - a really big story. It takes in every human being, all of culture and society, every moment of time, and every situation, condition, and circumstance of human life, and the entire cosmos. And it makes all of it new.

That's why Jesus preached the Kingdom. It's a great story! In fact, it's the only story that finally overcomes every dysfunction and every disappointment, because it's the only story that's finally and completely and eternally true!

So why aren't preachers today preaching the Kingdom of God? Why is so much preaching aimed at making us feel better about ourselves, or, on the other hand, discontent with our material estate and longing for more? Why are so many preachers diminishing the really big story of the Kingdom and plying their people with merely pretty good stories, or even lies?

I can't explain it.

It's interesting to see the academic world catching up to the plain teaching of Scripture, don't you think?

Now if only our preachers could catch up to the plain example of Jesus, and preach the Gospel of the Kingdom.

Additional related texts: Proverbs 14.12; Matthew 4.17-25; Romans 14.17-19; 2 Corinthians 10.3-5

A conversation starter: "What is the Gospel, anyway? I mean, what is the Gospel of the Kingdom?"

T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.