by George Dyson, Navy Chaplain, ACBC Counselor
A few months ago, a young service member stepped into my office requesting time with the chaplain. After recounting his grievances, he was visibly shaken and concluded, "I can’t take it anymore… I’m done!"
"Done with what?" I probed, "With life?"
"No, nothing like that," the young man replied. "I’m done with the military."
With a few more questions, I ruled out the possibility of suicidal ideation. As I enquired for more context, the problem became clear: This service member was disgruntled with his military experience thus far—critical of the treatment he was receiving from leadership, unsatisfied with the work he was given, and negative in his perception of both his peers and mission in the unit. In short, he was disappointed.
My conversation with the young man revealed the most prevalent issue I encounter today among military service members: unmet expectations. These expectations, left unfulfilled, produce an attitude of bitterness and resentment.
An expectation is "a strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future." [1]
Today’s young adults, both inside and outside the military, have expectations steeped more in secular culture and humanistic ideology than anything else. So, before we address a biblical framework for expectations, let’s first examine the influence culture has on one’s expectations.
In the collective works of the late sociologist and cultural critic Philip Rieff, he provided a roadmap for understanding the development of modern culture. Before the nineteenth century, man looked outside himself for meaning, value, and dignity. This means that in a traditional culture, man looks to an exterior authority to define himself. In modern culture, however, man looks inside, seeking to discover his identity within himself. This paradigm shift didn’t happen overnight; it evolved through a series of four character ideals: Political Man, Religious Man, Economic Man, and Psychological Man.
Rieff describes the first character, the Political Man, as one who finds meaning and dignity through his civic engagement in public life:[2] frequenting the Areopagus, attending the assembly, and engaging in community life. The health and stability of a person—his identity—is dependent upon the health and stability of the political order; that is, a proper subordination of the desires and passions to the political order.[3]
The fall of ancient Greece and the subsequent rise of the church in the Middle Ages gave way to the second character in this series: the Religious Man. The Religious Man finds his meaning and dignity through his involvement in religious activities: attending mass, going on pilgrimages, celebrating holy days, and giving alms. The Religious Man forms a sense of self by subordinating his passions and desires to an ecclesiastical authority.
The Industrial Revolution (18th century) and the emergence of Marxism (19th century) gave way to the Economic Man, who finds his dignity in economic activity: occupation, trade, or method for earning a living.[4] The Economic Man forms a sense of self by subordinating his desires to the success of an external economic entity—the company or trade union. Incidentally, the Economic Man is the shortest-lived character in Rieff’s paradigm due primarily to the rise of Sigmund Freud and his insidious ideas. Freud is the primary catalyst for the appearance of the final character: the Psychological Ma
n. More than any other figure, Sigmund Freud propagated the idea that we are, at our core (ontologically), what we desire.[5] While his thought focused primarily on sexual desire as the means for identity, he paved the way for modern man to look inward for identity. The Psychological Man does not find his meaning, value, and dignity in external sources as the previous individuals, but through an inward quest for personal psychological happiness.[6]
Whereas the Political Man discovers his identity through power, the Religious Man in salvation, and the Economic Man in provision, the Psychological Man finds his identity through the inner voice of reason—determining his meaning, value, and dignity through his feelings.[7] The Psychological Man cannot conceive of an action that is not self-serving, for the development of the self is man’s ultimate goal, and his desires must be discovered, realized, and promoted to achieve his intended meaning and value. The improved self is the ultimate concern of modern culture. [8]
Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor coined the term expressive individualism to capture this emerging ideology: "Each one of us has his or her own way of realizing our humanity, and that it is important to find and live out one’s own, as against surrendering to conformity with a model imposed on us from outside, by society, or the previous generation, or religious or political authority."[9] The Political, Religious, and Economic Man all have one underlying similarity: the subordination of passions and desires to an external authoritative source, resulting in an identity conformed by an exteriority.
In stark contrast, Psychological Man is suspicious of external authorities, perceiving them as threatening his pursuit of self-fulfillment, stifling his passions and desires. The new individual must be free to pursue what makes him feel whole.
In the age of the Psychological Man, our young people absorb this self-focused, humanistic ideology like a fish passing water through its gills. While a young person may not recognize the following presuppositions, they are prevalent among our service members, and have deleterious effects:
Those holding authoritative power in society no longer determine the individual’s best interests; the individual himself does.
External authoritative sources, religious or military, serve the individual in his quest for meaning and dignity.
Authoritative institutions, religious or military, are spaces for freely expressing the individual’s ideas. No foundational principles external to the individual’s thoughts and feelings are necessary or welcome.[10]
The idea that authoritative institutions could limit or challenge man’s freedom of self-realization resulted in the modern concept of "safe space"—a place or environment in which a person or category of people feels confident that no one will expose them to criticism, harassment, or any other emotional or physical harm. [11]
The new phrase "psychological harm" is a revolutionary idea in the era of the Psychological Man and instructive for understanding the prevailing humanistic ideology. When an external authoritative entity imposes an objective value (constraint or obligation) upon the individual, anxiety and panic are often the result. Since the Psychological Man identifies his dignity in the outward expression of his inner feelings, anything external to the individual that challenges or attempts to falsify his inner psychological beliefs is, by definition, harmful and prohibited.[12] Humanistic psychology’s latest attempt to clinically define "psychological harm" is termed "moral injury." [13]
Throughout twenty years of service as a Naval Aviator before becoming a chaplain, I never heard these concepts—"safe space" or "psychological harm"—discussed before a mission. I can also assure you that the Vietnam-era simulator instructors from my time at NAS Meridian didn’t consider my "feelings" during the rigors of flight training. Even now, I recall sitting in a flight simulator, amazed at both the decibel level and wondrous variety of curse words emerging from the instructor’s mouth while simultaneously pounding his hand on the desk. Yet, there was no "safe space" in the squadron area where I could collect myself and reflect upon the assault on my dignity (as if my dignity mattered in this context).
To my dismay, I now hear both terms in our military institutions' hallways.
But there is hope! The Bible is just as sufficient now for unraveling men’s foolish ideas as it was 2,000 years ago. As Charles Spurgeon is attributed to famously quipping, "The Word of God is the anvil upon which the opinions of men are smashed."
The hallmark of our fighting force is the all-volunteer military. Our young people, by and large, still enlist to be a part of something bigger than themselves—to be molded, shaped, and transformed into something they undoubtedly find valuable while belonging to something special. Central to their spiritual fitness is the ability to view their circumstances in light of their expectations. The counselor is responsible for asking questions to reveal these expectations. Recognizing humanistic expectations and replacing them with biblical expectations is an easy task in the military.
Returning to the service member in question, I usually begin by asking questions to expose cultural presuppositions inherent in our therapeutic psychological era:
Why did you join the military?
What were you expecting?
How has it missed the mark?
Are your expectations biblical?
For the military member who professes faith in Christ, the final question (above) often initiates the most exciting and revealing dialogue into the sufficiency of Scripture.
Once the service member has responded, I ask if they know that the Bible has a different answer than what they provided. A look of curiosity is nearly always present! I recall that reaction in the church. Most young people pine for exterior sources of authority and are led headlong into the culture’s grasp. The idea that the Bible is sufficient and authoritative for all life issues is foreign to many today.
Here is a biblical counseling model for identifying and replacing cultural expectations in service members:
What is your purpose for life?
Expect an answer in line with our culture's current focus on psychological happiness and personal fulfillment. Fortunately, most service members' goals also contain a mixture of character transformation and a desire to belong to a prestigious institution (i.e., the military).
Next, take the individual to Isaiah 43:7, "Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made" (NASB). Also, 2 Corinthians 5:15, "He died for all, so that those who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf" (NASB).
Show the service member how his singular purpose for life is to bring glory to God in all things. People bring glory to God by functioning according to His design and by obeying His will in all aspects of life. We were not created for ourselves but for God.
How do you bring glory to God?
I find this question stumps young people inside and outside the church. The inward cultural shift has our youth immersed in self-glorification, even in the military, which prizes self-sacrifice. I begin by showing the service member how God designed people to know Him intimately and have a deep relationship with Him. John 17:3 says, "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." To know God is to be in a relationship with Him, which is possible through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, reconciling us to God and restoring a right relationship with Him. Moreover, Jesus Christ is Lord of our lives (Romans 10:9), therefore we can rest in the knowledge of His sovereign control over our futures. According to Ephesians 2:10, "We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." We can rest knowing God "cut the orders" for the service members' current duty stations. His placement of the member in a particular unit was not a mistake but part of His plan to bring Himself glory.
What expectations did you have that were unbiblical?
By this time, the individual’s inward focus has unraveled. He now understands that he was not created for himself but for the Creator, and his greatest existential needs are not found within himself or culture but in God’s agenda. At this precise moment, I introduce an alternate definition for expectations: premeditated disappointments.
I invite the individual to review his expectations. (Often, I have been scribbling them on the whiteboard.) Then I ask if those expectations are for his glory or God’s glory. This exercise is simple and enjoyable for a heart transformed by the Holy Spirit.
Regarding premeditated disappointment, I liken the feeling to the "Check Engine" light of a vehicle or the "Master Caution" light of an airplane. Disappointment is a cautionary light designed to alert a person toward biblical reflection. What am I expecting in life that God did not promise? He did not promise (nor create man, for that matter) that man would find fulfillment in the ways culture unwisely promises. He promises fulfillment and satisfaction in obedience to His will and agenda. With Scripture as our guide, the potential avenues for the formation of biblical expectations are endless, such as these examples: God’s sovereignty (Proverbs 16:9); Transformation unto Christlikeness (Romans 12:2); Identity in Christ (2 Corinthians 5); Biblical love—not a feeling but a command (1 Corinthians 13); Walking in the Spirit (Galatians 5).
The Marine Corps’ Spiritual Fitness definition is "inner strength from higher purposes." [14] This meaning is a valuable counterpoint in the era of Psychological Man. Moreover, the Word of God is sufficient for teaching young people about their higher purpose.
When we show our youth how to align their expectations with God’s promises, we’re directing them toward the result of inner strength—the peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7).
by George Dyson, Navy Chaplain, ACBC Counselor
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1. "Expectation." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. Encyclopedia.Com. 27 Mar. 2025," Encyclopedia.com, March 30, 2025, https://www.encyclopedia.com/science-and-technology/computers-and-electrical-engineering/computers-and-computing/expectation.
2. Political man was "formed and handed down to us from classical antiquity." Philip Rieff, Freud: The Mind of the Moralist, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979), 356.
3. Philip Rieff cited in Antonius Zondervan, Sociology and the Sacred: An Introduction to Philip Rieff’s Theory of Culture (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2016), 44.
4. Rieff, Mind of the Moralist, 356.
5. The inward shift actually began in the 15th century with Petrarch and gained worldwide traction through the writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. For a more detailed historical treatment see my dissertation: George Dyson, "A Comparative Analysis of Biblical Counseling and Humanistic Counseling Models," (DMin diss., Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2023).
6. Philip Rieff, The Triumph of the Therapeutic: Uses of Faith after Freud (Wilmington, DE: ISI Books, 2006), 43.
7. Rieff, Mind of the Moralist, 356.
8. Rieff, Triumph of the Therapeutic, 51. In like manner, "Religious Man was born to be saved; Psychological Man is born to be pleased." Rieff, Triumph of the Therapeutic, 19.
9. Charles Taylor, A Secular Age (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007), 299.
10. Dyson, "A Comparative Analysis," 76-80.
11. Jacob Morton, "What is a Safe Place?," Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity, North Caroling State University (February 7, 2020) accessed November 16, 2021, https://diversity.ncsu.edu/news/2020/02/07/what-is-a-safe-space.
12. Carl Trueman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2020), 50.
13. For a helpful review of this ambiguous term, see Pat Devine’s exemplary treatment of this humanistic ideology in the June newsletter.
14. Marines, accessed March 31, 2025, https://www.marines.mil/Portals/1/Publications/MCRP%206-10.1%20(SECURED).pdf
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