Character is like a muscle. It develops with use. When an individual facing adversity rises above it, he will be a little stronger for the next test. Each time he disciplines himself to make the hard but right choice, he develops more character.
Most of the more popular approaches to psychological therapy view a person as a victim incapable of overcoming his problems. In response, they provide him with a way of resolving his problems other than exercising the discipline required to overcome them. This in turn prevents the individual from building character.
For example, if a person has an anger problem the Freudian approach assumes that he is incapable of overcoming it through the exercise of discipline. Therefore the therapist teaches him to deal with it through mechanisms such as ventilation, identifying the incident in the past that is believed to be the source of the anger, and then expressing hostility toward the offending person. Doing so requires no character.
Yes, numerous psychologists would tell us about how hard it is for the individual to go back and face all of that again and what character is requires to express anger as he relives the situation. The fact is that psychologists are always asking us to believe things that are counterintuitive—that the king is really wearing clothes. The reality is that it feels good to blow our stacks at those who have injured us. It does not require character to do so. It requires character not to do so. Encouraging the individual to ventilate rather than to control his anger weakens rather than strengthens character.
The psychologist would insist that not expressing anger is just “stuffing it,” and that all that pent-up hostility is the source of all kinds of pathologies. This is only true if the person dwells on the injury done. He must move on in his thinking, a discipline that also requires and builds character. Concluding that the individual is incapable of controlling his thoughts, of not dwelling on past offense, removes another opportunity to build character.
The Rogerian approach to therapy also absolves the individual of his need to exercise discipline. Rather than confronting wrong done by the individual, the Rogerian therapist is taught to accept him unconditionally. Therefore, the therapist, rather than challenging the individual to deal with his problems, assures him that he is okay regardless of what he has done. If the individual is okay as he is, he is never required to exercise the discipline to change, and therefore he is deprived of the opportunity to develop character.
Evangelicals have bought heavily into both of these approaches to counseling, especially the Rogerian model. Therefore, many in the evangelical community suffer from the same lack of character that is prevalent in secular society. A part of the needed Evangelical Reformation is rejection of the victim mentality and the corresponding call to individual responsibility. This will encourage the development of character necessity to live godly lives.