God Is All You Need
Genesis 2.18: Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” “And Adam said, no God—you’re wrong. Evangelical christians will tell me you are all I need.”
Genesis 2.21-22: So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man. “And man said—send her back, god. You are all I need.”
This is one of the things in my extensive list of gripes against christianity—this fucking stupid notion that god is all we need, that infuriates me. It is an outright lie, and total bullshit. Of course, that doesn’t stop pastors and “laymen” alike from spouting it from the rooftops, feeling ever so spiritual and self-righteous as they do so.
Rarely has a statement made by christians evoked such guilt and shame, and feelings of inadequacy (as a christian) as does this statement. Yet, it’s nowhere in the bible—nowhere! It just sounds good, sounds righteous, sounds spiritual, so those who don’t care and/or don’t know better spout it out whenever they deem it applicable.
Churchgoer (Cg): “I’m lonely—I wish I had a wife.”
Christian (C): “God is all you need.”
Cg: “My loved one just died; I really miss them.”
C: “God is all you need.”
Cg: “I’m depressed, and life is really difficult.”
C: “God is all you need.”
Cg: “I lost my job, and I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
C: “God is all you need.”
And so on and so on and…
I suppose it was conceived through the notion of not having any other “gods” before the big guy—the notion that we should love god; uppercase G, with everything. And if we do that, then we shall need nothing. It has also become a spiritual “measuring stick”, if you will. It serves to measure the spiritual conditions of both the person saying it as well as the person to whom they are saying it. Try it; go ahead and say it—out loud. “God is all I need!” There—didn’t that sound extremely righteous? It sets the bar pretty high, though, doesn’t it? Already, you are probably thinking of some things that you need, other than god. Food. Water. Sleep. Human interaction. Sex. To love and be loved. Acceptance. Shelter. Oxygen. To have fun; to enjoy life. Of course, the list could go on and on; in fact, I highlighted just a few of the more important ones. Are you starting to feel guilty yet? Maybe that you don’t measure up? Now, imagine that instead of you saying that god is all you need, someone is saying it to you. Maybe you mentioned a crisis you are going through. Maybe the loss of a loved one. Loneliness. Loss of…in response, you are told that god is all you need—the same god who did nothing to prevent the circumstance you are currently going through.
The implication here is, of course, that somehow you don’t measure up to their spirituality, or to the “expected” righteousness standard of the church. After all, if god is all you need, and you are seeking other things or people in the midst of your crisis, that indicates that there is a void you are trying to fulfill elsewhere, and you are…uh-oh—wait for it…idol seeking. There it is—I said it. That foul, corrupt word, idol. The true bastard child of need. After all, god is all you need. When you look elsewhere for comfort or companionship, you are in essence saying that god is not enough; that he is insufficient. And you dare never say that; after all, he is all you need!
I find it extremely odd that in 2 Corinthians 1.3-4, Paul says this: “He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” There it is; we are to comfort others. Conversely, this means we should seek comfort from other people, when we are going through difficult times. How dare anyone in the church say that instead, we should just go to god, and that he is all we need. A local pastor once told me that my desire for a relationship was, get this—sin and an idol, and I needed to “let go of it!” My very desire for a relationship is wrong; after all, god is all I need! I’m starting to wonder why god ever gave Eve to Adam in the first place. Didn’t he realize that Adam’s need—yes, need, for a wife was idolatry?! Actually, I remember it slightly different. Listen to the words of god, from the bible they insist is absolutely true and without error—yes, god himself, the one that is supposedly the victim of our idolatry when we desire a significant other. Genesis 2.18: And the Lord God said, “It isn’t good for man to be alone; I will make a companion for him, a helper suited to his needs.”
Please remember how wrong and hurtful that phrase is; how it is not even biblical in nature, the next time you want to let someone know how spiritual you (think) you are. After all, isn’t that really what this stupid phrase is about? Part of christianity – intentional or not, is feeling superior to other christians, to non-christians, and especially to people of other religions—heck, to just about everybody. When confronted with someone’s needs, it is easy to throw out the phrase “God is all you need.” And when someone does so, several things are taking place, none of which are congruent with a “good” christian.
It absolves the person saying it of actually taking the time and effort to simply be with the person struggling, and actually helping them. It’s as if they’ve said their “two cents” worth and have discharged their obligation to the person in need.
It is also intended by the person stating it to make them look good, and thereby, feel better about themselves. Not only does it separate them from needing to actually get involved and help, but it also separates them from what they perceive as compromised spirituality. It is a form of doing exactly what they are accusing others of doing—of getting one’s needs met through a source other than god. In this case, they are often looking to fill the void brought on by feelings of inadequacy, of being “less than”, or not good enough. They don’t feel good about themselves (It very well may be due to having been told by someone else that god was all they needed during a time of crisis), so in order to feel better, they find someone that they can deem to be “lesser” spiritually speaking, than they are, and in turn, spout off bullshit such as the phrase currently in discussion. If they don’t feel good about themselves naturally, a sure-fire method to feel better, or at least a sure-fire attempt to feel better is to put down someone else. At one point they were told that their spiritual condition was compromised, they internalized that message, and eventually it became their reality. Once the damage is done, they then in turn inflict the same damage, in order to avoid the “horror” of believing someone else is superior to them. Feeling superior to others becomes almost addictive.
And finally, saying the phrase they have heard and/or have been told themselves makes them feel as if they belong, as if they are part of the club. This comes from yet another need that we should (rightfully) fill, apart from god. That is the need to feel accepted, to fit in, to belong. If their perception is such that “God is all we need”, and if they want to fit in, to be accepted, and to belong, it becomes imperative that they spew the same Kool Aid they have been force fed; they must go with the status quo. So, you see, in the end, being told that god is all you need is really more about the person telling you such, than about you. Instead, you have often become a target, being used to make them feel better at your expense. So much for “God is all you need!” ~continues in Part Nine
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